


Peridot has a nice(?) day(s?)

by Regularperifan



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Angst, At least I'll try, Feels!, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, In Character, Residents of Beach City will make appearances, just a little, like a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-01 18:26:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 72,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5216105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regularperifan/pseuds/Regularperifan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot tries to deal with life on Earth. Fortunately, Steven is there to help. Set immediately after the events of 'Too far'. Officially AU after Steven's Birthday Bomb. Yay!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friends

"And then, I grabbed the bright red thing, and ran as hard as I could!"

"No way! Why did you do that?"

"Hm? I thought I'd told you. The worm ate bright stuff. Peridot, were you even listening?"

"I was listening!" Peridot answered, outraged "I meant why did you grab it instead of running away from the Connie!"

"I couldn't have done that! She could have gotten hurt!"

"Yeah, right. You too, for that matter."

The sun was high up in the sky and the day was hot and sticky in the worst way possible. A few clouds peeked in the horizon, with a promise of relief in their dark color. Steven and Peridot were sitting near the fence of Greg's barn, carefully picking useful parts of machinery from the otherwise useless pile of trash sitting next to Steven. Peridot chose what to keep, while Steven only followed her instructions. They had been working all morning, and their repetitive task had given Steven the opportunity to tell Peridot some stories about his adventures with the Crystal Gems. The gem seemed uninterested at first ("The hybrid insists in telling me completely pointless stories, probably better to pretend I'm listening" She had said to her tape recorder, joking, Steven hoped.), but Steven's enthusiasm had proven to be contagious, and now she was far more interested than she'd have admitted.

"Well, I didn't think about that then. I just wanted to protect her." Steven was wearing a sleeveless T-Shirt and a pair of shorts, but it was hardly enough to fight the overwhelming heat. The only reason he hadn't given up the shore and went inside the barn for some well needed rest was the full attention the green gem had been giving him the last few minutes.

"Protect her? I take it that was your mission?" Peridot mindlessly disassembled a machine and found nothing useful inside. As such, she threw it in the "trash" pile, next to her.

"Not really. I just didn't want her to get hurt."

"So you could use her later!"

"What? No! Because she's my friend!"

"Friend..." The word felt awkward in her mouth. "What is... Friend?" Her confused but curious look left no doubt she wasn't joking.

Steven gave her a blank stare.

"We really have to get you a dictionary."

"What is... Dictionary?"

Steven sighed. The more time he spent with the gem, the more he realized how... alien she was. It worried him. "It's alright" he thought "We'll have plenty of time to... teach her?" He decided there was no better word to describe it.

"You see..."

"Yo!" He was interrupted by the voice of Amethyst, who approached them coming from the road that lead to the city. In her hand, she was carrying a white paperbag with a donut stamp on it. "Lunch's here, dorks!"

"Lunch!" Steven stood up and ran towards her, so excited upon the perspective of having a break from the tedious work that he forgot he was about to give an explanation to Peridot. At this, the latter mumbled some words of reproach but stood up too and followed him. She didn't need a rest, she could've kept at it for hours, but that would have been pointless. The drill standing just a few meters away from them was in the last stages of development. Maybe it would have been completed by then, if it weren't for the other day's... incident. She sighed at the memory of her mistake.

"Aww! Donuts again?" Just a few days before Steven would have been pretty excited at the perspective of replacing all his meals with sugary foods, but now, at the barn, with no chance of getting a cooked meal, he'd learnt to miss regular food.

"Just give the word little man. You won't have to worry 'bout eating these anymore!" Amethyst hung the bag over her mouth playfully. Peridot watched them, hands crossed behind her back, and thought about Amethyst's weird habit of feeding. The very concept of eating for fun seemed ridiculous. Something that would only happen on Earth, she thought.

"The day hasn't come when I refuse to eat a donut." Said Steven, trying to imitate Jamie's "actor accent". If he succeeded, none of the gems seemed to notice. Feeling awkward, he grabbed the bag from Amethyst's hand. "Anyway, how about a pizza tomorrow instead?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure I'll remember." The look on Amethyst's face was far from reassuring.

"Mmm... Maybe I should go to the city, to get my own food." He looked at Peridot, who had been watching them carefully, standing a few feet away. "Maybe... You could come with?"

The questioned cleared her throat before speaking.

"Negative. I have no interest in your hunting rituals."

Amethyst snickered. "You don't hunt a pizza. You buy one." She was about to burst in laughter.

"How... Unamusing." The green gem was still trying to figure out what made Amethyst laugh. Not that she didn't enjoy making her laugh even by mistake, but she'd have wanted to understand how to do it on purpose too. "Anyway, you were telling me about this... dictionary, was it? What is it, and why should I have one?"

"Oh yeah! Well, lets talk about that over there." He pointed out the shade under a tree, not so far away from there. "I can eat comfy and I'll finish the story." Steven started walking.

Peridot followed him without hesitation and Amethyst walked with them, looking bored. The green gem took advantage of the window of time to make a short log. "Log date 711. The Steven and I have been working on finding parts for the drill. The pearl and the permafusion appear to be out on some sort of mission. The amethyst was out too, but she came back to bring "food" for the Steven to feed. The construction of the drill could go so much faster if these gems were more efficient." She thought about it for a second. "If we were all more efficient. Peridot, facet 5, end log."

Steven sat down in one the roots of the tree, relieved to be under its shadow. He opened the bag and found three donuts inside it. He didn't feel like eating them, but he knew they had a long day before them, and being hungry for the rest of it would only make it longer.

"I don't suppose you would like to try one?" He offered Peridot the best looking donut he had, a perfectly covered in chocolate goodie. Peridot looked almost offended.

"Ha! You didn't really think I would fall for that filthy habit, right?" Instantaneously she felt Amethyst's gaze fixed on her and realized her mistake. "I mean! No... Thank you?"

"Hey nerd! How do you know you'd hate it if you haven't tried it?" Amethyst clearly didn't buy her attempt at not looking disgusted with the idea.

"I don't have to try it! I don't need to feed."

"Neither does Amethyst. But she eats, because it's fun."

"Yeah... I'm still not completely fond of this... fun concept."

"Just try it Peri! What is there to lose? Are you afraid you might actually enjoy it?" Amethyst's teasing was far from discreet, but it almost made her feel the need to prove her that she would, indeed, not enjoy it.

"Ugh" The look on Steven's face made everything look alright, like she could, indeed, enjoy the experience. Amethyst, in the other hand, seemed ready to laugh at her reaction. "Alright. I'll... Try." She grabbed the brown "donut" Steven was handing her and immediately regretted her decision. It felt strangely soft, and she was about to put in her mouth with no other purpose than amusement. She seriously questioned what she had become.

"Something that would only happen on Earth..." She tried to bite it, but stopped just a few inches away, feeling dumb about being scared of something like that.

"What? You need a countdown or something?"

"One! Two! Three! Do it!" With all her willpower, she bit a small piece of the donut. The taste filled her mouth and the texture was almost enough to overwhelm her, but she chewed bravely, her stubborn nature the only thing preventing her from spitting it out. When she finally swallowed, she realized she'd gone through the experience with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, she felt her cheeks heat up at Steven and Amethyst's incessant stare.

"So... How was it?" The Steven spoke.

She could hardly answer; she had no idea herself. The uncomfortable feeling of the chewed donut in her insides was, perhaps, the worst part of it. The taste, however, had been nice.

She cleared her throat. "It was... something, certainly. I don't think this is for me, really."

"Ha! Told you it wouldn't be so bad! You should try other things too!" Surprisingly, the amethyst seemed genuinely happy, not laughing at her but rather... smiling happily.

"Yeah... Maybe." She handed the donut back to Steven though. "Now please, would you finish the story? Also, please clarify the concepts you mentioned before."

"Clarify? Oh, you mean dictionary." Steven grabbed the donut and took a bite out of it. "Dictionaries are big books! Inside them, you can find meanings of words, like dictionary or donut."

"That... Does sound really useful! How can I acquire one?" Peridot had to control her voice not to sound too excited. Learning more about Earth hadn't been important a few days before that, but now it felt necessary. Whether she liked it or not, she still had to cooperate with the Crystal Gems. And perhaps, deep inside her, she was actually curious about the planet. One where gems fed and permafusions and pearls were valued at the same level than quartzes. No that she would admit it under any circumstances, of course.

"I'll make sure to give you one back at home."

"Home." Peridot thought, and the word made her feel strangely uncomfortable. Their home, not hers. "W-What about the other thing? I believed you call this... Connie, a friend?"

"Oh yeah! Friends are the best! A friend is a person you love and care about! Someone you feel the need to protect and feel sorry when they get hurt!" One could practically see Steven lit up as he spoke.

"Love and care about? You're starting to sound as lame as Pearl." Said Peridot, and she pleasantly confirmed that her response made Amethyst giggle. She smiled triumphantly, as she had actually intended to make her laugh this time. Not Steven though, he was serious.

"But it's true! You can't help but protecting them, even if it puts you in danger."

"But why?" She was actually trying to understand. "What if you get hurt? Wouldn't that be worse?"

"It's... A little hard to put in words if you haven't... Experienced it..." He finished the phrase before he realized what he was implying. Peridot hadn't had any friends. She didn't even know the word! Thinking about himself in her place was overwhelming, not having anyone to love, anyone that loved him... He felt bad and was about to take it back, but Peridot didn't seem to mind.

"Well that sounds... Really, really dumb."

"Oh, What!? It is not! There are things that have to be more valuable than yourself!"

"Yeah, right. Like what?" This time Peridot spoke completely confident of her words. "A donut?" She laughed at her own joke, but the other two didn't, instead they observed her with unusual attention. An awkward feeling stroke her and she felt herself blush, laughter dying into an annoyed grunt.

"No! Not like a donut! A person! Like Amethyst! Back when you protected her... from the... drill..." Suddenly, realization lit up in Steven. Exactly like that. Exactly like when he grabbed the glow stick, even though he knew he could get hurt. She had protected her! That had to mean...

"You have friends!"

"What?" Peridot seemed shocked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Yes! How come I didn't see it!?"

"Wait! Hold on a..."

"You do have friends!" Steven wasn't listening, too excited upon his discovery.

"Huh?" Had the Steven lost it? And why had Amethyst started looking so awkward?

"You two..." Steven pointed at both Amethyst and Peridot, who was still lost in the fast development of the situation.

"Wait Steven! Don't..." Amethyst blushed violently.

"...are friends!" Steven words were followed by a thick silence. Peridot felt dizzy.

"Wait! Wait! No, nononono!" The green gem broke the silence, still utterly confused. She heard Amethyst mutter "Oh boy...".

"That wasn't... It couldn't have... I mean I don't l-lov..." Her words died as she blushed. She had been so confident, but now... "No! That was different... It had to be..."

"You two are friends." Steven was completely zoned out, impressed by his epiphany. "You are my friend too!"

"What!? Not you too!" Peridot couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Amethyst help me out! This is... He's just joking right?" Amethyst, however, evaded her eyes. Still inexplicably blushing.

"Cut it out Steven! You're being super weird!" She spoke, finally. Steven came to reality with a sense of triumph. It was real! Peridot had actually made a friend! He then looked at the two gems in front of him and realized he probably had been making them feel... exposed.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that! I..." Both Peridot and Amethyst looked at him in confusion. "I mean... I shouldn't have... Even if we are..."

"Ugh, whatever man. Just drop it." Amethyst seemed recovered from her initial awkwardness, but she looked at the barn with a little too much attention, facing away from Peridot. The latter, however, didn't look so good.

"Wait, I-I have questions..."

"You too should drop it." Now Amethyst sounded annoyed. Peridot couldn't remember being so confused in her life. Why had she saved Amethyst again? Was it because she was a quartz, thus more important than her? Or perhaps just because she laughed at her jokes, and Peridot enjoyed that, enjoyed her company, too much to let her get hurt or shattered...

"Argh! What is wrong with this place?!" The green gem yelled at no one in particular, taking her hands to her head in a gesture of supreme desperation.

"The barn..?"

"Earth! I've been eating, Steven! Telling jokes! Jumping in front of giant drills to save an amethyst because... because..." Amethyst turned and faced her, and in her eyes, Peridot saw a shadow of an unimaginable feeling. Her knees felt strangely shaky and she dropped on the ground with a "plump". "I don't even know why." She hugged her knees and closed her eyes, trying to process all the new encountered fee... No, she couldn't call them that. It was impossible.

"Hey." She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She lift her head and saw that Steven had sat down next to her. "None of those things are bad... That's just how we do on Earth."

"It doesn't matter if they're good. I'm not supposed to do all those things." She felt tears forming in her eyes and hugged her knees tighter.

"But why?"

"Yeah, it's not like you're in Homeworld anymore." She looked at the purple gem. Amethyst was looking at her in a way she couldn't possibly describe, much less understand. It almost seemed like she... cared about her pathetic little feel... Ugh, that word again. "Nobody's watching you here, you know? Well, we are. But we don't mind."

Peridot smiled sadly. "Of course you don't. You're all defective."

"Ugh, this again?" Amethyst returned to her annoyed look.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just... I simply can't understand! How do you do it? How can you handle this?!" She was yelling again, as if that would help clear her frustration.

"What do you mean... This?" Steven said.

"All of this! Friends! Jokes! Not acting the way you're supposed to! It's ridiculous!"

"Listen Peri... No one should... tell you what you're supposed to do. Much less what you're supposed to be. A... Friend of mine told me that." The purple gem spoke softly.

"Ahg, you don't understand! I... You say it's OK but..." She bit her lip, trying to get a little courage before speaking. "You say it's OK, but just yesterday I was so stupid! I could have gotten you or even Steven s-shattered..."

"But that was an accident! Everybody makes mistakes!" Steven saw the gem's struggle to speak and felt the need to hug her. He had to keep his composure though, he didn't want to startle her.

"Well not us! Back in homeworld a defective peridot such as me wouldn't be tolerated! And it was all because I felt small... I felt bad! Don't you get it? My... " She struggled with the next word. "feelings... were about to hurt you. How can you even... live like that?" Peridot raised her eyes to Amethyst. "I don't want to hurt you... I-I'm bad. You should just go away." She felt tears dripping from her eyes but for once, she didn't care. It felt good letting them out.

And then, much to Steven's surprise and Peridot's shock, Amethyst came closer, kneeled down, and hugged the green gem. Peridot emitted a little gasp and would have tried to move away, but the other gem had a strong grip on her. Besides, it felt so... right. Pressure built up in her chest and she fought to keep it held, to keep the sobs down.

"I don't care if you're bad. You don't love friends because they're always good." Amethyst whispered. Peridot couldn't hold back. She didn't understand why she was crying or why she hugged back the rebel gem she was supposed to fight, or why the Steven also joined the hug, but it was OK. She was on Earth now, away from Homeworld, surrounded by gems as defective as her and infected by parasites called feelings. But she was happier there than she had ever been.


	2. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot has trust issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for leaving Kudos! You pump me up. Now lets get to it!

Slowly and reluctantly, the three broke the hug apart some time after Peridot stopped crying. It felt like it had lasted hours, but it was probably no more than a couple minutes. None of them had talked during the time they embraced each other. 

Peridot felt a a lot calmer, but as soon as the others moved away, she unconsciously hugged her knees a little too hard, still processing what had just happened. It wasn't the hug that worried her the most, not even the fact that she had cried. It was the terrifying warm feeling that had invaded her chest during it. It was still there, Peridot could feel it, but she couldn't possibly have described it. It was warm and... nice and.... Her ideas got all tangled after that.

"Get up nerd. We still have work to do."

Amethyst caught her by surprise, and Peridot looked at her with her mouth half open. Amethyst was offering her a hand, and Peridot saw her like she had never done before. She looked so strong, she couldn't help but staring at her for a couple of seconds. The warm feeling pounced in her chest when she grabbed her hand to get up. 

Peridot made a mental note about looking up that word that Amethyst liked to call her so much, "nerd", once she'd get the "dictionary" Steven promised. 

"Y-Yes. We better continue our task. Steven, have you finished your feeding process?" 

Steven grabbed the bag of donuts from the ground, but he still didn't feel like eating them.

"I don't think I'm hungry, really." He looked at Amethyst. "Maybe you could..." He intended to say "...finish these for me?" but he was interrupted by the sound of Pearl's voice coming from the same road Amethyst had come from just minutes before that. She was talking with, or rather to, Garnet, who walked beside her, looking as stern as ever.

"I'm telling you, something has to be done about it. If it were to find a way to get to land..." Pearl stopped talking as she saw the three figures standing under a tree and looking at them. It didn't take a genius to notice something had been going on while they weren't there.

"Oh! You three look... alright. Is everything OK?" 

"Yeah, we were just..." Amethyst was violently interrupted by two green hands that covered her mouth, fast as lightning. 

"Everything's fine! We were just... Hmm... listening to one of Steven's stories! Right Steven?" Peridot looked at him asking for help. 

"Err, we... I... story..." Steven barely managed to mumble. He had never been good with lies, not even the little ones, and even Peridot had to admit, that attempt had been really weak. She didn't have time to think about it though, as a shiver ran through all her body when she felt Amethyst's tongue on her hands, that she still held over the purple gem's mouth. She retreated them immediately.

"Eww! You... You licked me!?" 

"Hey, you started!"

Peridot gave her an incredulous stare. "What is wrong with you!?" Pearl and Garnet were about to take a step forward, fearing the worst. However, Amethyst couldn't help her laughter at the green gem's overreaction.

"Oh man... Your face..." She bent down, laughing harder. Peridot's initial shock was replaced by a smile that sneaked its way to her lips. Behind her, Steven started laughing out loud too. 

"You two are... unbelievable." She tried to sound serious, but her voice cracked and denoted she was about to join them too. This made the other two double their chuckles, until she couldn't keep her composure and broke down in a fit of giggles. 

Meanwhile, Pearl and Garnet observed the scene with more doubts than before. They relaxed, however, at the sight of the trio laughing.

"Well... you sure look like you've been having fun!" Pearl said. Right after that, however, she told Garnet in a much lower voice: "What's gotten into them? They're laughing? Should we be... worried?" A "Hmmm..." was Garnet's only response.

"Yeah well, we better get to work." Peridot was the first to snap out of the laugh attack. Her partners kept at it though, and she was forced to rise her voice to be heard over their laughter. "I trust your mission went swiftly?"

"As a matter of fact, it... didn't go so well." Pearl was a little surprised by the green gem's interest. "There's nothing to worry about though! Specially since there are more important tasks at hand."

"Yes! The construction of the drill should be our top priority. With that in mind..." She grabbed Steven by his arm and tried to drag him to their workplace.

"Wait! I want to know about the mission! Did you guys fight a corrupted gem?"

"We didn't fight one." Garnet answered. "We were just looking for one."

"Great! Now, come on!" Peridot pulled on his arm. Steven was about to ask her about her insistence when he looked at the gem's face. He saw...

"Amethyst, you should come too!"

"Huh?" Amethyst was cleaning tears from her eyes when she heard Steven's voice.

"Yes, come! I was telling Peridot about the time you ate that burrito from Aqua-Mexico!" As he talked he grabbed Amethyst's hand and made her walk with them to their working place, away from the other Crystal Gems.

"Those three are up to something! Is this... Are we OK with this?" Pearl spoke, once they were too far to hear her. Garnet took her hand to her glasses and pushed them up.

"For now, we wait and see." Pearl seemed to doubt her for a second, but she recovered and smiled slightly.

"Very well! After all, this is Steven we're talking about. I'm sure he would never do something that could hurt anybody."

"Not on purpose." Was Garnet's enigmatic response as she started walking towards the barn. Suddenly, Pearl didn't feel OK. She looked at Steven sitting near the pile of machinery, between Peridot and Amethyst. He was smiling, but Pearl couldn't help looking at him with urge. She didn't approach him, though. Instead she followed Garnet.

\---------

Peridot cleared her throat before speaking.

"I had to bring both of you here to talk about the... Incident from a moment ago."

"Oh, you mean you weren't interested in the story about the burrito? And here I thought you just wanted to talk about food." Amethyst joked. Peridot didn't seem to get it.

"Why would I..? It doesn't matter! What matters now is that I have something to tell you." The other two looked at her curiously, but she didn't start speaking.

"What is it?" Steven had already started to look for machines he could disassemble on his own among the pile, but stopped his work to encourage her.

"I have... a request to make." How she bit her lower lip, the way she rubbed her hands nervously... Peridot was in turmoil. Steven had seen that in her eyes before, when she tried to drag him away from Pearl and Garnet. That was the reason he complied. Following a hunch, he made Amethyst walk with them too.

"Spit it out already!" Amethyst talked with her mouth full of half chewed chocolate donut. However, when Peridot lowered her head before speaking, seeking to evade their eyes, she felt insensitive. "I mean... If you want to..."

"I..." Peridot clenched her hands. "Please don't tell anybody! About our... about what happened before!" 

"They are about to laugh" She thought. "There is no way they'd care about me..." She closed her eyes, waiting for the laughter and mockery. However, when all she heard was silence, she raised her head and looked at them. Before her, Steven and Amethyst directed a quick view to each other, a mute agreeing being made. Steven spoke:

"We promise."

"You... Do?" 

"Yeah, Peri. No one has to know if you don't want it."

"But just so you know... Pearl and Garnet wouldn't..." Steven tried to say.

"No!" Peridot interrupted him. "I mean... Please don't tell them! They wouldn't understand! I..."

"Whoa, it's OK dude. We won't." Amethyst could feel the anxiety coming from Peridot. "But he's right, you know? They are cool."

"Cool..." 

Not for the las time, Peridot fell aware of her situation and felt strangely dizzy. Things where happening too fast and the feeling of transgression that came the first time she used the word "feeling" wouldn't abandon her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down before speaking. "I... Understand. But still, don't do it. They are not my friends."

"But we are!" Steven seemed to be the only one confident enough to express friendship out loud, as the other two opted for avoiding each other's eyes. "I'm sure they mean you no harm..." He stopped. How come he was so sure? He'd seen Garnet's opinion on the gem mutants, and whether she liked it or not, Peridot represented the creators of such monstrosities. He'd been there too, heard the screams... A shiver passed through his body and he dropped the thought. "I mean... Don't you trust us?" He said it, but the confidence was gone. 

"Trust." The Steven's question hit a sensible chord in Peridot's mind. Did she trust them? How else could she describe it? She ate what he gave her, she left herself be hugged by Amethyst... Trust was the word. But how had that happened? A peridot wasn't meant to decide whom to trust! She had her orders and these gems were stopping her from completing them. Thus, it was unnatural for her to trust them. "Traitor." The word popped in her mind and stuck there, like a pointing finger. The Steven was still waiting for an answer, Peridot had to remind herself.

"I... trust you." Saying it out loud was refreshing, but it also made the pointing finger in her mind glow dangerously. "But..." But what? What was preventing her from trusting even more in the Crystal gems? She sighed. "I guess I'm just not used to this 'friend' relationship."

"It's OK." Steven felt relieved. It was just that. She was just getting started, after all. They had to be careful, delicate even. "It's called friendship by the way. Our... relationship."

"Friendship. Mmm..." Peridot grabbed her recorder to make a note.

"Log date: 712. The Steven has promised to get a 'dictionary' for me. That invention should prove to be a helpful ally in the understanding of Earth culture and it's erratic behavior. Some words I intend to investigate are: robot, glow stick, nerd, 'dude', burrito, friend, friendship. The list will surely grow longer as time passes, though. Peridot, Facet Five, end log." 

Amethyst and Steven had stared at her the whole time it took her to make the log, to the point that she deliberately looked the other way, fearing to blush again. 

"You really like that thing, huh?"

"It's really useful, yes. Unlike all this garbage." She looked at the pile next to Steven. "Earth technology is simply archaic."

"Hey! It's still good enough to help you build something like that!" Steven pointed at the drill, standing some feet away from them. Garnet and Pearl were next to it, talking.

"Barely. I could have built something way better on my own back on Homeworld. If I had my limb enhancers that is."

"Oh! yeah. I... Sorry about that." Amethyst smiled awkwardly and rubbed her neck.

"Why? It's natural for an opposing faction to disarm an enemy." Her words surprised her, as they came out naturally. She knew she should have been mad, but she just couldn't. Something about the words of the amethyst... felt sincere. 

"No! I mean..." Amethyst blushed slightly, which caught Peridot's attention. "If I hadn't thrown them into the sea..."

"Oh. So you did that." Peridot's eyes were two narrow slits that made Amethyst uncomfortable. She sighed, however, and took her hand to the bridge of her nose. "Nonetheless. That's in the past. I'm sure you wouldn't just give them back anyway."

"Yeah..."

"Mmm... Actually..." The two gems turned their attention to Steven. "I've been thinking about getting them back for you."

"What!?" Peridot practically jumped to her feet. "Is there a way you could do that?!"

"Yeah dude, what are you talking about?"

"Well, I don't know if it would work! Remember how I was telling you about the time I ended up in the bottom of the sea with Connie?"

"Yes, yes!" Peridot's voice was unable to hide her excitement.

"So... I think we could go to the warp, get in a bubble and go to the bottom of the sea!" He dramatically raised his arms. Reality hit him, however, and he smiled awkwardly. "The whole thing is pretty silly though..." 

"We could actually do that..." Peridot was too caught up in the idea to pay attention to Steven's remark. "We would have to search for days! But maybe, just maybe... We could actually find them!" She grabbed Steven's shirt with both of her hands. "Steven! This might actually work!"

"Ok, ok... Let's not get too hyped." Steven tried to calm her, while taking her hands of his shirt. "There are other things to consider!" He used his fingers to count the impediments. "It's dark down there! And I can't be there for too long. Water could have ruined them, a fish could have eaten them..." Every point made Peridot's smile more and more crooked.

"Not to mention Malachite." Steven heard Amethyst's voice and looked at her with his mouth half open. Just a second after that, Amethyst cringed when she caught up on what she had just said.

"Malachite?" Peridot's excitement was replaced by curiosity. "Are you saying there's a gem at the bottom of the sea?"

"Not exactly... A gem..." She begrudgingly answered. 

"So? Another permafusion?" Peridot raised her eyebrow at the other gem's uninformative answer.

"Yeeeesss..?" Amethyst seemed suspiciously interested in the tip of her shoe. When Peridot looked at Steven's alarmed face, she knew something was going on.

"You two are not telling me something. And are terrible at hiding it." She directed her eyes to Steven. "Why is this... Malachite so important? Is it some kind of classified information?"

"I... It's just..." Steven didn't dare look at her eyes. Was it classified information? Sure, Peridot didn't know about Jasper and Lapis, but it wasn't like they had been hiding it from her on purpose. The subject just never came out. But she had... Peridot trusted them. Would there be any damage in retailing that trust with their trust? Did any of them had the power to withhold information from her?

"So?" Peridot's eyes narrowed at the other's silence. They were hiding something, they weren't going to tell her. She felt anger growing in her chest. "So?!" She almost shout. "Just say it already! You don't trust-"

"No! We-"

"-me!" She felt stupid. How had she actually believed that they could trust her? She was their enemy! Not that friendship nonsense!

"Peridot..?" Steven asked. The green gem standing in front of him kept her fists clenched and her eyes shut, she didn't answer. "Peridot... I... We are sorry. We will tell you." Peridot opened her eyes, surprised at Steven's words. She didn't move, however, and she still looked tense.

"Steven! Are you sure..?" Amethyst said nervously. She directed her eyes at the two gems working in front of the barn. 

"I... I am not." He tried to smile, but it came out forced. "But there's no other way around it." He felt his mouth dry and his voice shaky as he started telling the story. "Peridot, when your ship crashed..."

\----

"And we have been searching for them ever since. We know she... they are still down there..." During the whole story Peridot hadn't moved an inch, her body tense as ready to fight or flight. The look on her face, however, made it clear that thoughts were racing through her head.

"Peridot..? Is this so important?" Amethyst looked desperate. She knew the look on Peridot's face. She was about to snap.

"That's why Jasper never picked up her communicator... She was overpowered by the Lazuli..." Her voice was dangerously low. She looked at Steven with barely contained rage. "You... Everyone of you knew! You knew about this all along!"

"Peridot, we didn't think it'd..." Amethyst felt a lump in her throat. Steven couldn't look away from Peridot's eyes.

"I told you... I trusted you..."

"Peridot, please! We are sorry..."

"NO!" The shout startled Steven, he took a step backwards. Pearl and Garnet heard Peridot's voice and quickly approached the trio. "You are not!" She turned her back on Steven and raised her arm to point directly at Garnet, who was standing next to Pearl.

"What is going on..?" Pearl tried to ask, only to be interrupted by the small gem's voice.

"You!" She hissed. "You are their leader. You chose to hide important information regarding my crew!" Garnet didn't answer, but she clenched her teeth. Steven felt like puking. "I shared my knowledge with you and this is how you repay me?!" Peridot wouldn't have dared to yell at her like that any other time, but anger had erased fear from her mind. "What else do you know? What else are you hiding from me?!"

Pearl covered her mouth. "No, nonono! Peridot! We didn't... We are not..."

"LIES!" She gestured flailing her arm. "This is what I get for trusting you... you... you clods!" The term had never sounded so harsh as when she spitted it out at that moment. Peridot could feel her cheeks burning. She was still holding her tape recorder in her clenched hand. Shaking, she raised it to her mouth and started recording.

"Log date, 713. I've been abandoned at cruddy planet Earth. The Crystal Gems have not only managed to wreck my ship and get me stranded, but have also made their task to deliberately hide information from me. I'm nothing but a prisoner." Her hand was shaking but she kept her voice calm. Steven's eyes started watering. "This is what I get by trusting defective pearls and war machines..." 

Suddenly, Garnet took a step forward. Peridot was barely able to see the trajectory of her hand before she took her recorder away. The others observed the scene in distress.

"What?! Give that back!"

"Peridot. You need to stop this." Garnet's voice was icy. It reminded Steven of Sapphire's.

"No!" Peridot closed her eyes, stubborn. "Give it back!"

"I you'd liste-"

"No!" 

"Stop." 

"NO! I don't take orders from you, you disgusting display!" The moment she spoke, she realized she'd done wrong. She heard a sudden crack and opened her eyes to see Garnet with her mouth half opened. In her hand, she saw the remains of her tape recorder, shattered. Steven was openly crying at that point, unable to do anything except observe the scene in horror. Garnet was the first to react.

"I... I didn't mean to... It was an accident..."

"Unfuse." Peridot's eyes were sparkly with tears, but her voice didn't crack. 

"Unfuse. Right this instant. So I can beat you up like a real gem." Her clenched fists showed that she was serious. Amethyst knew Peridot had no chance against Ruby or Sapphire, but she couldn't help but feeling impressed at her nerve. 

"Peridot... Please..." Steven took a step forward. "This is all a misunderstanding! We didn't mean... You don't need to fight!" If Peridot heard him, she didn't show a sign of it. 

"UNFUSE!" She knew she wasn't thinking clear. How was she, a peridot, supposed to fight another gem in any way without her limb enhancers?

"I will not." Garnet spoke. She had recovered her more calmed self. "We are sorry. I am sorry. About this. " She looked at the broken recorder in her hand. "About all of this. But I will not fight you. Nobody will. Not again. Not anymore." One more time, Peridot discovered herself believing in the words of The Crystal Gems. The feeling made her confused, but she didn't drop her anger. They had lied to her! They took away her limb enhancers! She broke her recorder! And she wasn't supposed to fight?! Peridot thought about it, but her tongue felt too tangled to even try to speak. With all her frustration, all of her anger, she threw a punch as hard as she could to the closest object she could find. The drill.

The hit was so unexpected that Steven stumbled on his own feet and fell on his butt. With a creaking noise, the metal curved under Peridot's fist. When she opened her eyes and realized she had actually dented the metal structure, the reality bite hit her. She looked around, but everyone seemed to had froze in place. The Crystal Gems observed her incredulously, but she didn't fail to notice their stance; they were prepared to take out their weapons.

"I..." She what? She felt stupid, scared, small. And trapped. Without any sort of warning, she started running towards nowhere in particular. Away from the barn, away from the Crystal Gems and their ridiculous promises of friendship and away from her stupid desire to accept them. She just wanted to leave everything behind. She heard the Steven and Amethyst yelling her to wait, but that only made her run faster.

\--------

She ran for what felt like hours, harder than ever, until she realized no one was following her. Even then, she didn't stop. It was easier to ignore the shame and fear while running. But eventually, she had to stop. She was at the top of a hill, and before her, land ended abruptly. She stood next to the edge, mesmerized by the spectacle in front of her. Water crashed in waves on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. The sound was strong, and the smell of salt was overwhelming. She raised her eyes and observed the buildings to her right. "The city." She thought. The city that he wanted her to visit. She felt a lump in her throat and sat down. Why was she so mad, again? It wasn't like Jasper had a ship to take her to Homeworld. Lapis Lazuli probably could, but it was clear that she would rather stay in the bottom of the sea than go back there. It didn't matter, she decided. Earth was a prison she couldn't escape.

Maybe it wasn't that. Maybe she was angry because she felt... betrayed. "Not that I am one to judge traitors." She thought. What had Amethyst said? "You don't love friends because they're always good." Love...

What else was she supposed to do? "They were hiding it from me! Who knows what else are they hi-" She tried to justify herself, but she failed. She knew she had been wrong. They had forgiven her. She had put their lives in danger, but they had accepted her apology. Homeworld would have seen her shattered for much less than that. 

"You two are friends. You are my friend too."

"You don't love friends because they're always good."

"I will not fight you. Nobody will. Not anymore."

How come the most irrational and illogical things made sense when coming from them? How was it possible? She saw the clouds growing bigger in the sky as they came closer to the city. "Rain. It is going to rain soon."

She heard him come, but she didn't bother turning. "Go away, Steven." But he didn't stop. When the figure sat next to her she was barely able to withhold an exclamation. Garnet, however, didn't look at her. Instead she focused on the town. Peridot felt an assortment of mixed feelings in her chest; confusion, anger, fear... and a little hope. Garnet didn't seem mad. Maybe she wasn't there to crush her. Not that the fusion had ever been very expressive. 

"I'm sorry." She heard the words, but they didn't seem real. Why was she apologizing? "We should've told you. You trusted us, and in return we didn't trust you. Don't be mad with them. I know they didn't mean to hide it. But I did. And I was wrong." Peridot was only able to hear in awe. That right there was the leader of the Crystal Gems, admitting a mistake. She tried to picture Yellow Diamond doing the same. Impossible. "And I'm sorry about it. And this..." She handed her a rectangular shaped object. Peridot took it carefully and examined it. Her recorder, put together with some odd gray substance. "Pearl tried to fix it. It works, but if you want we could get you a new-"

"Thank you." Garnet looked at her. She pressed the recorder to her chest. "Thank you for... all of this."

"It's nothing really." She adjusted her glasses with one hand. Peridot chuckled, and Garnet looked at her curiously.

"Nothing, huh? You are all so... unbelievable." She directed her eyes to the sea. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to get mad. I... " She hugged the recorder tighter. "I was afraid." Afraid of what? Of losing her first friends? Maybe...

"You gave the drill quite a punch."

"Y-Yeah..." She remembered the unbelievable feeling of metal curving under her fist. "I'm not even supposed to be that strong."

The two sat there for a moment. They could see the sun was going down, but it was partially covered by dark menacing clouds. Garnet was the first to stood up. 

"Well. We better get you home. Steven must be worried about you." She offered her a hand. 

"Home..." She whispered. The word still made her sad. Not her home.

"Yes. Our home." The hand didn't move. The implication of her words hit her as she grabbed it. She wanted to ask her, to make her clarify what she meant. But Garnet didn't give her a chance, as she started walking before she could talk. "Our home..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was that. Sorry things got feely near the end, but I love me some feels (Can you tell how much?). I'll try to make the next episode a jolly one to compensate. 
> 
> It seems a storm is brewing in Beach City! And not just figuratively. And you know what comes with stormy nights? Sleepovers! I wonder who Steven's gonna invite.
> 
> Stay tuned for the next chapter someday next week!


	3. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and some friends have a sleepover during a stormy night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I know it's not next week yet, but I had some extra free time and... well, this. Anyways! Thank you again for leaving kudos/comments! I wish I could hug ya'll, but a story will have to do.

They arrived at the house as the rain started. Garnet didn't talk on their way there, which gave Peridot some time to think. She thought about the encounter that was bound to take place in the house, and she couldn't help feeling nervous. "What am I going to say? What are THEY going to say?" When she finally stepped in front of the door, with the wind blowing behind her and her back being pelted with raindrops, the pressure built inside her was huge. So much that she could actually feel it, like an uncomfortable weight on her chest. She raised her hand to grab the knob, but she was surprised to verify she was shaking. Garnet stood next to her, not oblivious to the gem's turmoil. She didn't say anything, however. Instead, she opened the door for her.

Inside the house, sitting on the sofa, Steven and Amethyst directed their view to the door. Peridot thought it was weird that the whole place was almost completely dark, except for a flashlight placed on the table. Steven jumped to his feet as soon as he saw the green gem. Peridot was about to start her apology when Steven started running towards her. She instinctively raised her arms to protect herself from the impact, but when this one came, it was in the form of a hug. Almost instantaneously, the weight in her chest was lifted, replaced with the warm feeling she remembered so well. Steven buried his face in her chest and started talking too fast.

"Peridot! I'm sorry! Please don't go again... I promise I won't lie ever again!" Peridot felt confused at Steven's quick stream of words as these came out muffled, but she managed to understand enough.

"Steven, it's fine! What are you..? You didn't lie! You don't need..." She tried to push him away to look at his face, but Steven's arms were firmly fixed around her. "to apologize! I'm the one who's sorry!"

"Are you... Mad?"

"What? No!" She kept to trying to separate him, but Steven seemed decided to not let go.

"You won't try to go away?"

"I won't! Now, could you-"

"Do you promise?" He looked at her with watery eyes. "I can't promise that..." That's what she would have wanted to say, but she couldn't find the nerve. "Why do I even care? Oh, yeah. 'Friendship'."

Peridot sighed. "Yes, Steven, I do promise. Now, please, can we go inside? It's raining." Only then Steven let go of her.

"Oh, yeah, right." He laughed awkwardly and moved aside to let the two gems inside. Peridot reluctantly approached Amethyst, almost wishing she wasn't there. Peridot avoided her eyes, but felt the other's gaze on her.

"Amethyst... I..." Words didn't seem to want to come out of her mouth easily. She felt the sudden desire to use her tape recorder to apologize, but she figured she was too far in to do that. "I'm sorry, for... Everything."

"Meh, it's cool." The nonchalant tone of the amethyst took her by surprise. When Peridot looked at her she crossed her arms behind her neck and put her feet on the table in front of the couch. "Just don't run away crying again, would ya?"

"I wasn't..!" She wanted to say she hadn't been crying, but in all honesty, she didn't remember. "Hmpf! Alright. I will not."

"But hey, Peridot?" The purple gem spoke. Garnet passed near Peridot, and sat next to Amethyst.

"Y-Yes?"

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you about Malachite." Amethyst's hair conveniently hid her eyes.

"I..." She was interrupted by the sound of the warp pad being activated. Blue light filled the room.

"Oh! What?! They're already here!" Steven yelled. He ran towards the stream of light as two figures materialized on it. One was Pearl, the other one Peridot didn't know.

"Pearl! You ruined the surprise!"

"The what now?" Pearl raised her eyes and looked at Peridot. She wondered how'd everything gone, but relaxed at the view of Garnet sitting next to Amethyst. Peridot, however, didn't look at Pearl. She was looking at the girl standing next to her, with a sword in her hand.

"Connie! I want you to meet someone!" Steven grabbed the girl's free hand and practically dragged her off the warp pad.

"Steven! What are you..?" Words gulped in her throat as she saw the green gem that observed her carefully. "Peridot!" She thought, and unconsciously tightened the grip on the sword in her hand.

"That's Connie?!" Peridot yelled mentally. By Steven's story, Peridot had imagined her very different. She didn't look like one to run away from a monster. The sword in her hand made Peridot wish to take a step back, but she didn't move, trying not to look too intimidated.

Steven, however, didn't seem to notice Peridot's and Connie's doubts, as he dragged the latter until they were standing right in front of the former.

"Ehm, I kinda wanted this to be a surprise, but it's still pretty cool. Peridot, this is Connie! Connie, meet Peridot!"

The two of them looked at each other's eyes for a second, quickly evaluating each other. Connie knew about Peridot's deal to work with the Crystal Gems, but she felt a warm feeling in her fists when she remembered that not so many months before Peridot had tried to take Steven away. Peridot in the other hand, barely knew anything about Connie. In her experience, however, it was better to stay in the good side of warriors. She crossed her arms behind her back, and was the first to speak.

"Greetings, Connie the human, friend of Steven. My name is Peridot."

"I... Nice to meet you." Connie automatically offered her hand, just to immediately regret her decision when she noticed Peridot's surprise at the gesture.

"Oh! This is an Earth thing! You are supposed to shake it." Steven said.

"Shake... It?" Peridot looked even more confused. Behind her, Amethyst snickered. "Like... This?" She extended her arm and carefully grabbed Connie's hand with her own, and started moving it up and down.

"Well you just have to... Actually, that's exactly right." Steven was surprised that the gem had actually done it perfectly on her first try. Connie was a little tense, but felt the relaxed atmosphere coming from the Crystal gems and relaxed a little too. She smiled at Peridot and shook her hand vigorously. Peridot couldn't help but frowning her lips in response.

"Mmm... Earth manners do not cease to amuse me. And annoy me, that too."

"I... Suppose they're pretty odd." She laughed slightly at Peridot's comment. "I bet you'll-" She was interrupted by the sound of thunder, that startled both her and Peridot. She released the gem's hand, momentarily distracted from her. "Oh no! Is it a storm? Steven, have my parents called?"

"Lights went out about an hour ago, the line's been dead since then!" Steven caught up on the fact that Mrs. And Mr. Maheswaran would probably want to know about her daughter, specially if they knew there was a storm about to hit Beach City. Connie took out her cellphone.

"Oh, shoot! There's no signal on the Sky Arena. Mom's probably gone crazy calling me." She quickly marked her number, but before she could dial, her phone rang. "See?" She took a deep breath before picking up.

"Hello. Yes, mother. Yes. The weather report didn't predict this, no. Yes, it is pretty bad. I... Do believe it'd be dangerous. Steven's dad is not here, but his... the rest of his family is." She opened her eyes widely. "Are you... Sure? Yes, I-I see. I'll ask them..." She pressed her phone against her chest to cover the sound of her voice, and looked at Steven.

"My mom thinks the storm is too strong for me to get home. She wants to know if I can spend the night here!" Steven's eyes went bright with nothing but the idea. He looked at Pearl expectantly. In response, she smiled and nodded once. The next time she spoke, Connie was barely able to withhold her enthusiasm.

"They said yes. Yes. I understand, tomorrow morning or as soon as the storm passes. Goodnight mom." The call ended and for a second Connie just stood there, getting her ideas in order. Steven, on the other hand, yelled in excitement.

"Sleepover!" He grabbed Connie by her hands, giggling happily. "Oh man, this will be awesome! We can have hot cocoa, and tell stories and..." He stopped talking when he paid closer attention to Connie. "Connie? You don't seem very happy..."

"Uh, what?" She was brought back to reality. "No, I... I am. This is just... New..."

"Oh! Is it... Your first time sleeping somewhere else?"

"No! Well, it is, but... I meant my parents, letting me sleep out. Just like that..." Slowly, realization lit up inside her. "Steven, they actually trusted me!" She grabbed Steven's face between her hands. "They trusted us!" She laughed out of pure joy and Steven joined her. Meanwhile Peridot observed the whole scene with a raised eyebrow. She had retreated a couple of steps back and whispered to Amethyst.

"Can you explain to me what's going on? What's a 'sleepover'?"

"Hey, yeah!" Peridot huffed at Amethyst's loud voice. There was no discretion when talking to her. "You don't know, right? Yo, Steven! Aren't you forgetting this one?"

Peridot didn't think Steven could get any more excited, but when he looked at her, she practically saw his smile light up the room.

"Oh. My. Gosh. You'll have your first sleepover!" This time, when Steven ran towards her, she didn't even bother preparing herself. However, Steven didn't hug her, he instead grabbed her hands. "Ah! This will be so much fun! We'll watch movies! We'll drink cocoa!"

"Steven..?"

"We'll tell scary stories! We'll sleep comfy under warm sheets! And-"

"Steven!"

"Uhm... Yes, Peridot?"

Peridot sighed. The kid was so excited about whatever a 'sleepover' was, that she knew already that she wouldn't be able to not participate. "I could really use that dictionary right now."

\--------

"You don't know how to read?"

"I DO know how to read! Just not... Human!" Peridot answered, outraged. One more time, Amethyst snickered behind her. Steven had just handed her the dictionary.

It didn't take long to get everything set up for their first "Storm Sleepover". Steven was, of course, the one to name it. They sat in a circle around the flashlight in front of Steven's bed; Connie, Amethyst, Peridot (reluctantly) and Steven. Garnet and Pearl couldn't stay.

"I'm sorry Steven, but we can't join you this time around. But don't be sad! Maybe we'll come back before you fall asleep!" Pearl had tried to let him down easy, but Steven knew she was saying that just to make him feel better. It didn't matter, he decided. The night would still be awesome. Furthermore, Garnet and Pearl probably had important stuff to do. They used the warp pad and went away in a flash.

"Well I could help... If you want!" Connie spoke. After seeing Steven being nice to Peridot she'd found quite easy to think of her as a friend. She still had doubts, but decided to give her a chance. Then, with Peridot in need of help, she thought it was as good a time as any to do so. "Just tell me what you want me to look up!"

Peridot hummed. The Connie had put the sword away, and without her she didn't look half as menacing, but she couldn't help but feeling nervous. "Alright. Yes, you can help me." As such, Connie stood up and sat next to her. She grabbed the dictionary.

"What should we start with?" Another thunder followed her words. Peridot gasped, but regained her composure quickly. She couldn't help blushing a little, however.

"Start with... 'dude'." As Connie started looking for the word with the flashlight, Steven stood up and went to the kitchen. When he came back, he brought four cups of hot cocoa on a plate.

"Alright! Snacks!" Amethyst took one of the cups and drank most of its content in one gulp. Peridot didn't look too excited with the idea.

"This again?" The donut from that morning had almost been too much, she wasn't sure if she was ready to try eating again.

"But wait, this is different! You'll like it, I promise! There's nothing better on a stormy night!" He handed her the steamy cup and Peridot reluctantly grabbed it with both hands. The warm feeling it provided was, indeed, pleasant. She carefully sniffed its content. It didn't smell bad either.

"Thanks!" Connie also grabbed one. Steven took his place in the circle, sitting between Amethyst and Connie.

"Alright, now this is getting better! Now all we need is... Scary stories!" He made his best scary voice, but all it accomplished was making Connie giggle and Peridot frown in confusion. "I would offer a movie, but you know... Light's are out and stuff."

"What is the purpose of telling 'scary stories'?" Peridot was holding the cup between her hands, still indecisive about drinking its content.

"To get scared, duh!" Amethyst answered, right after she finished her cocoa. Peridot gave her a blank stare, but Amethyst didn't seem to notice.

"Yes, but... Why? Is this some other weird Earth ritual?"

"Well, I guess you could say that... It's just for the fun of it though." This time, Connie was the one to answer.

"Let me get this straight. You have fun by being scared." Peridot's eyes narrowed.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Steven rubbed his neck awkwardly. "None of them are real though! They're just stories. It's better not to overthink it! And now..." He grabbed the flashlight and put it under his face. "I'll go first!" As he started, Peridot carefully took a sip from the cup. The sweetness overwhelmed her, but after the initial taste she found the experience oddly soothing. She repeated the process a couple of times.

\------

"But when she closed the door, when she thought she'd finally escaped... She heard a quiet whisper next to her ear 'Right behind you...' And when she turned..!" He paused for dramatic effect, making sure his three listeners dwelled for a moment in expectation. "All she saw was darkness, and a row of white teeth about to close on her neck." The flash of a lightning made its way through the window and Steven was able to see the three faces looking at him. He could have predicted two of them; Amethyst looked bored but mildly pleased, Connie's eyes were wide open and she held tight the dictionary against her chest. Peridot, however, looked... Very unamused. He hadn't expected her to deal so well with scary stories. "The end!"

"Oh Steven that was awesome! I got chills!" Connie spoke.

"Not half bad. I still wish it had a scarier monster than a vampire." Said Amethyst.

"That was it?" The other three looked at Peridot. She didn't only seemed completely unimpressed, but borderline annoyed. She looked away when she noticed everyone staring at her with curiosity.

"Aww, C'mon! Not even a little?" Steven had even made sure that she understood what a vampire was.

"Yes alright! Go Peri! You could easily take down a vampire with one of your sick punches!" Amethyst made the gesture of punching the air in front of her.

"My what punches?" Connie quickly leaned over and whispered something. "Ha! It has nothing to do with my combat skills! The Steven said it. It was just a story. How can you be scared of something that's not real?"

"Oh. That." Amethyst stopped looking so cheerful. Connie frowned and considered the question. Steven opened his mouth to explain, but he didn't find an answer. The three stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, defeated by Peridot's logic. The rain continued to fall outside, with the wind whistling incessantly. Finally, Connie was the one to break the silence.

"Ok... Maybe it doesn't make that much sense. But let me try! This will be a different kind of story." She grabbed the flashlight from Steven's hand and held it under her face. Peridot followed her movements with attention. "Imagine you've been abandoned in a strange place, away from home..."

"You mean like Earth?" She raised an eyebrow. Connie caught up on her mistake.

"I... Well, yes. But it's not Earth! It's somewhere different. A dangerous and weird place, filled with creatures that seek to harm you..."

"Exactly like Earth."

"Agh! It's not Earth!" She realized she'd spoken a little too loud and blushed. "I-I mean..." She dropped her head, hope lost. "I don't think this is going to work. I give up. Amethyst, do you want to try?"

"Meh." She didn't seem too interested. Steven looked at Peridot, his mind racing with thoughts on how to get a story to scare her. When he was about to give up, he heard the green gem's voice.

"What if I'm the one to try?"

"Oh! That's... Nice. Sure." Steven was surprised at her offering. Peridot didn't waste time, she put the cup (that was still half full) on the floor and grabbed the flashlight from Connie's hand. She imitated the kids, putting it beneath her face. She cleared her throat before speaking, and when she did, her voice was soft and calm.

"In Sector 78, there's a planet that gems tried to colonize a long time ago. The crew of the first gem ship to arrive at it described it as empty and dusty, perfect for Homeworld's purposes. However, as soon as one of the planet's rotation cycles, all communication with the gem ship was lost. They hadn't built a warp pad yet, and Homeworld was forced to send another ship to retrieve the crew of the first one. This time, however, they sent soldiers, prepared for the worst. They arrived at the planet and investigated the first ship. They reported it to be abandoned, with no trace of the crew. There weren't any signs of fight either, and the perimeter seemed clear."

"Homeworld's orders were clear. Continue the construction of the warp pad. After that, reinforcements would be sent and they'd have more time and resources to look for the disappeared crew. This time they took precautions; they set up a camp and surrounded it with the highest of gem tech available at the time for perimeter guarding. Their technicians worked as fast as they could, but back then the process used to take some time. During that time, communication was successful and constant. Suddenly, however, reports stopped coming. As time passed, Homeworld prepared to send another rescue team, but then, they received an odd report. It had only three words: 'Do not come.' The gems that received it described the voice coming from the wailing stone as one of the soldier's, but it didn't sound... Normal. They tried checking for damage on the wailing stone, but it was perfect. That was the message."

"The authorities in charge decided the only explanation possible was a rebellion. And the only solution was, of course, crushing it as soon as possible. But before they could send troops to the planet's surface, another message arrived. This one was a little longer, containing five words: 'Ever again. Under any circumstances.' This time the voice belonged to one of the members of the first crew. After a while, reports started coming again. However, they were always the same eight words: 'Do not come. Ever again. Under any circumstances.", being said by different members of both crews. The gems in charge of receiving messages explained they weren't distorted, but the voices on them weren't right. They sounded different in an unknown way. Almost like something else was imitating the voices... Trying to sound like them."

"The authorities didn't believe them, though. They were replaced with new gems, and the accepted explanation was that the rebels were trying a desperate strategy to keep Homeworld off planet. And so, the troops were sent. A good number of them, under the command of one of the most loyal gem warriors. These gems were no rescue team. Their orders were clear; look for the rebels and shatter them on sight. No exceptions. This is why, when their reports stopped coming, and their voices became part of the chorus that repeated only the exact same words: 'Do not come. Ever again. Under any circumstances.', Homeworld left the planet forever. The official reports only talk about the planet not being fit for gem colonization, but the reasons are never clear. However, the frequency of the wailing stone that received messages from that planet is prohibited under all circumstances, and visiting it, even in case of emergency, is considered betrayal. The end."

When she finished the story, she looked at her audience. Steven had grabbed Connie's hand and was observing the dark corners of the room with wide, nervous eyes. Connie and Amethyst looked at her, but nobody seemed to want to talk.

"Haha... Good one Peri. Good thing these are only stories... Nothing real! Right?" Amethyst tried to make her voice sound cheerful, but she failed. Suddenly the night's atmosphere didn't feel so comfortable.

"Uh? It was totally true. I told you, otherwise what's the point?" Amethyst cringed and Steven tightened his hold on Connie's hand, but Peridot didn't seem to notice. She put the flashlight on the floor and grabbed her cup to take a sip, when she realized the other ones were oddly silent. "Is... Everything OK?

"That was the scariest story I've ever heard..." Steven spoke in a shaky and low voice that worried Peridot a little. "And it was totally awesome!" His voice went filled with excitement again and Peridot relaxed. "Peridot you have a talent! That was radical!"

"Uh, what? No, it was just..."

"Yes! Woohoo!" Connie raised her hands over her head.

"Ha, it was pretty cool Peri. Got me for a second." Even Amethyst seemed impressed.

"I..." She didn't know what to say, so she conformed with mumbling a couple of thankful words while taking another sip from her, now cold, cocoa.

"Very well! I say this is to be considered a successful evening!" Steven stood up. "I'll get us some blankets and pillows and off to bed we go!"

"Save'em." Were Amethyst's words before laying on the floor and closing her eyes. Once again, Peridot felt lost.

"Wait, 'blankets'? Connie, can you...?" It felt weird needing her help, but the Connie had proven to be both helpful and kind, and Peridot didn't feel ashamed of asking her for help. "Like the others." She thought. She sighed mentally. "Did I just make another one?" Yes, friendship was proving to be a sticky thing. The way Connie smiled and nodded only made it worse. Or better, she couldn't decide.

"Well, traditionally sleepovers end with a night of sleep. A blanket is a piece of cloth that you use to keep you warm, and a pillow... Well here they are!" As Connie explained Steven got back and handed her both a pillow and a blanket. Connie didn't waste time and laid down with the pillow under her head and covered with the blanket. When Steven handed the same to Peridot, he doubted a little.

"Have you... Ever slept before?"

"Negative. Is it really necessary for the 'sleepover' to finish properly?"

"Kinda... You don't have to if you don't want to, though!"

"I... Do want to." She grabbed the piece of cloth and the 'pillow'. "It's traditional, right?" She proceeded to imitate Connie's posture, liying on her back with the pillow under her head. "Is this OK?"

"Yeah, that's... OK." Steven looked at her in a way that made her feel... She didn't know how. "Now just close your eyes and let it happen!" She closed her eyes, and all she could hear was Amethyst's loud breathing, Steven liying down next to her, and the incessant sound of rain.

"Good night Connie! Good night 'dot!"

"Good night Steven!" Connie said.

"Good night Steven." Peridot repeated.

Soon, Steven started breathing deeply too. Time passed, and she lay down, waiting for sleep to happen. She concentrated on the wind blowing and the drops of water pelting the house's ceiling, and waited. Soon, however, she realized something was not right. She was not sleeping. She sat down and looked at the other three; they looked so... Peaceful. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep. She grabbed her recorder and examined the damage Garnet had caused. It'd been pretty bad, but the gray matter that Pearl had used to fix it did the trick. Tape, she'd called it. She had to press the record button a little harder than before, probably due to some internal damage. She wouldn't change that recorder, she thought, not even as broken as it was.

"Log date, 714." She kept silent a moment, listening to the rain. "I could escape right now. The rain is loud enough for me to open the door without waking anyone up. It would also erase my trace, so that it probably would be harder for the Crystal Gems to track me." She stopped again, thinking. "Why don't I just do it then?" Another pause, for a couple of seconds. "I liked cocoa. It was warm and sweet. Like him. Like his friend, Connie. Like Amethyst." The wind whistled loudly outside. "I liked that they liked my story. And I liked when he hugged me. I really did." She felt tears coming to her eyes, but kept her voice calm. "A peridot is not supposed to like things. So that when times like this come, we don't have to think about whether we want to escape or not. That shouldn't even have to be a decision." Another pause. "I guess I'm really defective then. But here, no one seems to care about it. Maybe I could get used to it. Making friends, eating, having sleepovers." She contemplated Steven's chest going up and down. "Maybe even love." The word sent a chill down her spine, but she kept recording. "Maybe... Just maybe. I guess it's worth the shot. Peridot, Facet Five, end log."

She lay down again and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I told you this was going to a be 'jolly' one? Well, turns out I forgot how much I suck at jolly ones. Thus, this came out pretty feely too. Anyways!
> 
> This time I can really assure you that the next chapter won't be up until next week. Maybe next time we'll get an insight in what Garnet and Pearl are up to.


	4. Traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone has betrayed Homeworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh! This chapter was so hard to write! I think it came out pretty well, but seriously, I'm exhausted. One more time, thank you for leaving kudos/comments, they mean a lot!

She was standing next to the edge of the hill again. This time, however, she couldn't see water at the bottom of the cliff. Instead, the cliff seemed to extend endlessly, until the bottom wasn't but a dark void. "D-Do I really have to jump?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Steven said. His smile calmed her doubts a little. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she thought. But when she tried to move her feet, they didn't obey.

"One. Two. Three. Do it!" Amethyst yelled. She didn't want to do it, but the shout startled her and she fell directly into the void. She opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn't hear her own voice. As she fell deeper and deeper, she saw Steven and Amethyst looking at her from the top of the hill, and she heard them yell something. She couldn't understand their words, but they were smiling. Peridot felt fear. She knew she was about to hit the bottom and she hugged her knees curling herself into a little ball, closing her eyes, waiting for it to happen. But the impact didn't come. All she could feel was fear and cold, as she fell for what seemed to last an eternity.

"Why? Why am I doing this?" She wondered. 

"Because you want to." The void answered.

"I didn't want this! I didn't want any of this!" She yelled in frustration, but no sound came out of her mouth. Still, the void seemed to hear her

"But you do now."

"I... Don't..."

"You do. And you can. You just have to let go." The voice of the void was soothing, almost caring.

"But... I'm afraid..." She hugged her knees tighter. The cold seemed to intensify. "Can't I just leave?"

"You could. But you don't want to anymore."

Slowly, she tried letting go of her knees. The cold seemed to retreat. She opened her eyes expecting to see the darkness of the void staining her skin. What she saw, she couldn't believe. Stars passing quickly around her, each one brighter than the last. She opened her mouth in awe, and let go completely. Fear was replaced with a mixture of marvel and hope, a warm feeling made its way to her chest and got rid of the cold. She was surprised by how easy she forgot what fear felt like. She couldn't remember what she was supposed to be afraid of anyway.

When the impact finally came, it was soft and warm, nothing like what she had expected. She knew that feeling. It was him, hugging her. She was between his arms.

"Steven! I..." Except, something was not right... His skin was pink, not yellow. She raised her head to look at his eyes, feeling the cold return slowly to her body. When she saw her bright yellow eyes, she remembered what she was supposed to be afraid of.

"Traitor..." Yellow diamond whispered.

When she opened her eyes to reality, she expected to see a pair of yellow, predator eyes fixed on her. Instead, all she saw was the two shortest Crystal Gems looking at her with attention.

"Gah! What are you... What are you doing?!" She sat down and tried to back away from the gems, but she moved too quickly and hit the back of her head against Steven's bed. Steven and Amethyst were also startled by her sudden awakening.

"Wow, calm down Peri!"

"Ah! We didn't mean to, I swear! You were dreaming, and talking and..." Steven's pained expression brought her back to reality. She'd been sleeping.

"Wha... What was all that?!" The memory of the bright yellow eyes was still in her mind. "Traitor." She had whispered. Peridot felt a shiver run through her body. "Is... She here..?"

"She?" Amethyst raised and eyebrow.

"No, wait! It was a dream! It's something that happens when you sleep!" Steven said.

"A... Dream?" Peridot looked around. The room was clear, no sign of anyone but them. "What is... A dream?"

"A dream is... Like a movie!" Steven tried to explain, just to realize that she hadn't seen a movie before. "I mean... When you sleep the thoughts in your head get all mixed up. Dreams are just mixed up thoughts! Nothing you saw was real."

"It wasn't real..?" Yellow Diamond wasn't there. She'd never been. Fear subsided slowly as realization came to her. Of course it hadn't been real! None of it made sense. Except... The last part. "I... I see. Is that something that happens always when you sleep?"

"Well... Most of the time at least."

"Hmm... Is it always this unpleasant?" She frowned her lips. If the Steven had to live through dreams like that every single night, she'd have to give him more credit for looking happy all the time. 

"Uh? No! You must've had a nightmare!"

"Nightmare?" 

"Well... Most dreams are fun and... Happy, but sometimes you can have bad dreams, where scary stuff happens. And bad dreams are called nightmares."

Peridot hummed. "I understand." A certain part of it had been pleasant. "Now, what were you doing when I woke up?" She narrowed her eyes at Amethyst's sudden blush. Steven raised his hands defensively.

"We... Hmm..." The two avoided her eyes. Peridot sighed.

"I don't care. Just... Don't do it again, alright?" She had a pretty good idea of what they'd been doing, but decided to drop the subject. Otherwise she would've ended up blushing too. The other two looked relieved as they nodded. "Good." 

She stood up, feeling oddly stiff. She realized it was probably a side effect from sleeping and stretched out her limbs.

"Who were you talking about?" Amethyst's words paralyzed her in an odd position. She quickly crossed her arms before speaking.

"W-What do you mean?" Her voice cracked in the most painfully obvious way possible.

"You said... 'Is she here?' As soon as you woke up." Now Amethyst observed her with narrow eyes. 

"I... Well, no one! It was a dream! That means it doesn't matter, right?" She didn't give them time to answer. "Lets stop wasting time! We should head back to the barn. There's job to do... And, the drill is more important..." She kept talking as she walked down the stairs until her words became but a mumble. Behind her, Amethyst and Steven looked at each other. Steven shrugged his shoulders.

"Peridot?"

"Y-Yes, Steven?" She answered without looking back upstairs.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Peridot cringed. His tone reminded her too much of her dream. "But today we won't work on the drill."

"Uh? Why not?" She turned around, as his words caught her by surprise.

"Who cares! Garnet said we should take a day off. They're still busy looking for that corrupted gem, but we are free to slack off." Amethyst seemed delighted with the idea. Peridot, however, didn't find it so appealing.

"Why would she say that? She knows how important it is!" She frowned her lips. Had the leader of the Crystal Gems forgotten the impending doom of the Cluster?

"Hey, don't worry about it. Trust me, Garnet knows best." Amethyst reassured her. "Does she?" She'd have wanted to say, but she refrained. For all she knew about her, she was pretty sure Garnet wasn't one to toy around with important matters. She must had had a good reason.

Peridot huffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine! We'll 'slack off', whatever that means. Speaking of which... Where's the Connie?" She examined the house with more attention, trying to find a sign of the human girl. When she looked out the window, she understood. Rain was long gone, and the girl had talked about leaving after the storm. "Wow!" The exclamation slipped out of her mouth before she knew it. The day was bright outside, in an almost surreal way, with a clear sky with no trace of clouds. Mesmerized, Peridot walked outside through the front door. Once again, Steven and Amethyst looked at each other, shrugged and followed her outside.

Peridot stood next to the railing and observed the beach. The breeze brought her the smell of the sea. By the position of the sun, she knew it'd been a while since it'd came out. The reflection of the sun on the blue of the ocean made Peridot blink twice.

"How is it... Possible?" She asked to no one in particular. Still, Steven took it upon himself to ask:

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you see it? The rain is gone and... Everything's so... Bright."

"Uh? It's just normal, you big nerd!" Amethyst laughed slightly. 

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Steven ignored Amethyst's comment and stood next to Peridot. "Sometimes it gets like this after it rains."

"Beautiful..." 

"Uh? It means..." Steven started saying.

"I know what it means. The Connie helped me look it up." Peridot answered vaguely. Beautiful: aesthetically pleasing. A smile appeared in her lips. However, when she saw the bright yellow light of the sun reflected on the sand, her smile died slowly. Yellow, as her eyes. "Traitor", she'd whispered. Peridot clenched her fists as the day lost its brightness for her.

"Peridot..?" Her change didn't slip past Steven. "Is everything... OK?"

"Don't worry about it." Peridot's voice was calmed and calculated. "Tell me more about this... 'Slack off'."

"It means..." Amethyst approached them by the back and put a hand over their shoulders. "We have time for ourselves." Peridot took her time to look at Amethyst's hand on her shoulder, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, she asked:

"Meaning... Time for what, exactly?"

"Uh? You know... To have fun and stuff!"

"That sounds... Terribly unproductive." Her response turned Amethyst's smile into a bored expression.

"Well, that's the point, you know?" Said Steven. "It's OK to relax once in a while. Do something you like!"

"Hmm... Maybe on Earth." She murmured.

"Don't be such a buzzkill, alright? You'll like it, I promise." Amethyst's smile returned, reassuring, but it crashed against Peridot's stoic expression.

"Buzz-what?"

"Ugh, you're imposs-"

"It doesn't matter!" Steven interrupted her, seeking to avoid confrontation. "Peridot, tell us something that you like to do!"

"Something that I..." She remembered the night before and blushed slightly. "I... Like doing my job." Certainly, a peridot should enjoy getting her job done. That was the proper answer.

"Aaaalright... Anything else?" Steven's voice was doubtful.

"Another thing...?" One more time, memories of hot cocoa and Steven's hugs came to her. She quickly shrugged them off, however. "Traitor" The word resounded in her head. "I like... Making logs to present later to my superiors." Yes, that was also a proper response. Steven's smile faded a little.

"Boooooring!" Amethyst said. Steven hit her in the side with his elbow. "Ow! But it's true!" She protested. Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose you like 'better' things?"

"Ha! You're joking, right?" Peridot's face remained serious. "I like eating! And wrestling, watching TV, sleeping... And messing with this little guy!" She mussed Steven's hair, and the boy laughed.

"Wait, what? Those are all... Useless!" Peridot frowned in confusion. 

"Well... Not everything you like has to... Be useful..." Steven's words stroke a sensitive chord inside her. Useless, but pleasant. Like eating or sleeping, telling stories or having sleepovers. It made sense. Except she wasn't supposed to like any of those things. "You dumb, defective peridot! It doesn't matter, you still like them. And you know it." The thought crossed her mind and she clenched her fists. Steven and Amethyst were still waiting for a response, but all she managed to say was:

"That's... Weird." 

"No it isn't! It's natural! You just have to find something you enjoy. Aside from your work, I mean." Steven smiled at the thought. "We can help you, you know? We're bound to find something that you like!"

"Wait! Who told you I want your help?!" Steven's smile faded once again and Peridot felt bad. She cleared her throat and tried to rephrase her words. "What I mean is I... Don't need your help. I appreciate the offer, but I'm not interested."

"Pfft." Peridot narrowed her eyes at the sound coming from the purple gem's mouth. "You're just soooo afraid of finding out you enjoy other stuff. Just like with that donut."

"I am not!" Peridot answered way too loud as she moved away from the purple gem, shocked by how clearly had the Amethyst seen through her. Steven and Amethyst observed her, alarmed at her reaction. "I mean... It's just..." The thought of her eyes sent a shiver through her body. She clenched her fists harder. "Ugh, who cares about what you think! You're just... Ugh!" For once, she made an effort not to call her a clod. 

"Gee Peri, what did I say?" Amethyst's look showed she was actually surprised at her reaction. Peridot couldn't help feeling bad at her reaction. She sighed.

"I'm... Sorry. It isn't your fault. It's just..." She struggled to continue, and Steven noticed it. What could have the gem in such turmoil? When she finally spoke, Peridot avoided their eyes. "Earth is nothing... Like Homeworld.... I'm not supposed to... Agh!" She covered her face with her hands. "You can't understand!"

Steven felt a lump in her throat. Peridot looked so... Miserable. He took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder, but much to his surprise, the gem jumped at the touch like his hand was on fire. She retreated a couple steps and watched them from there. In her eyes, Steven saw sadness.

"Peridot...?" She didn't answer. "You know... You know you can tell us anything, right?" Steven's voice cracked, but he kept his composure, trying to transfer a little confidence to the green gem.

Peridot observed them carefully. Her friends, she thought. Steven and Amethyst had more than proven their good intentions towards her. They'd kept their promises. That had to be worth something. But they weren't the problem; she was. Because at the moment that she admitted she enjoyed their company and many other things about Earth, she'd consolidate herself as a traitor. To Homeworld, to Yellow Diamond, to her mission. And the very thought of it frightened her. 

"Peri..?" Amethyst observed with growing concern how Peridot got lost in her thoughts for the second time that morning.

"I..." She didn't have a satisfactory answer for them. Heck, she could barely understand herself. But when she looked at Steven's worried face, she knew she had to try. Her friends, she had to remind herself. She breathed deeply before speaking. "Steven..?"

"Yes?" The boy lit up when she spoke.

"I know I can tell you..." The boy smiled widely. "A lot." His smile got smaller. "You too, Amethyst. But... If I tell you this..." She stopped one more time, growing courage to speak. "I'll tell you." They both smiled. "But I need you to know what's on stake. So, we'll do this my way."

"And that means..?" Steven asked.

"You have to take me to the kindergarten." Her ominous words gave Steven chills. "The kindergarten..."

\---

On their way, Steven saw Peridot submerging deeper and deeper inside her thoughts. Amethyst also grew quiet as they entered the dark place. Steven observed their surroundings with caution, fearing the chance of finding gem mutants, as neither Amethyst nor Peridot were paying enough attention to it. He wanted to say something, anything, but the atmosphere was too oppressing.

Peridot could feel her determination crumble as they got closer to the place, but forced herself to continue. "What do I have to lose? I'm already a traitor. I've been one for quite some time." She tried to convince herself, but failed. This time it was different. There was no turning back after it. 

As they made their way underground to reach Facet Five, Amethyst broke the silence.

"What are we... Doing here?" 

It took a second to Peridot to understand she was talking to her.

"We... When you threw my limb enhancers into the ocean, I lost all of my logs. Some of them, however, were backed up here, in Facet Five." She gave the explanation with a neutral and calculated voice. "I... Need to show you something. After that I'll... Make my declaration."

They arrived at the dark green room and Peridot approached the control in the middle of it. While Steven and Amethyst stood behind her, she raised her hand to activate it and realized just how nervous she was when she saw her hand was shaking. Even so, she didn't stop. "There's no turning back." The room lit up as the screens filled with data and the low humming of machinery filled the air. Quickly, she located the information she'd come searching. Before showing it, she took a deep breath.

"P-Please... Pay attention." She didn't dare looking back and facing their eyes.

The information on the screens changed quickly, until it formed a picture.

"Wow! It's your ship!" Steven said.

"Yes. This particular model is used for exploration and recognition missions. You've seen it before. It's basically the only ship a peridot's allowed to drive on her own." The information on the screens changed again, until another picture was formed. "This is a basic gem battleship. Most of the time these are driven by lower gems under direct supervision of one or more quartzes. Its size is roughly three times the size of my ship. It's equipped with a lasercannon that makes the one you've seen look... Weak, to say the least." She heard Steven about to ask a question, but didn't give him the chance to, as the information on the screens morphed one more time into a different picture. "Now this, this is a gem battlecruiser. They're used as spacecraft carriers, being able to fit nearly one hundred gem battleships inside it, for reparations or transportation. You can imagine its size, right? Its equipped with the latest in gem technology. Homeworld only sends them on very far and important missions. There are four of them in this sector." Another picture materialized on the screens. "This is a gem capital ship..."

"Peridot...?"

"These are the real deal. The only time I've seen one..."

"Peridot!"

"...Yes, Amethyst?"

"Why are you showing us this?"

Peridot gulped. She turned around, but kept her eyes away from theirs.

"You've met Jasper. She and a single gem destabilizer were enough to reduce your team. Most of these ships can carry up great numbers..."

"Answer the question, Peridot." Amethysts words were dangerously low. Peridot stopped talking, trying to gather courage to speak. Even so, when she did, she couldn't help sounding distressed.

"I... Do understand what it feels like to... Enjoy something... Useless. Like cocoa, or telling stories." She wasn't looking, but she could tell Steven and Amethyst were staring at her with full attention. "But the fact is, that just proves how defective I am. As of now, all I've managed to accomplish here on Earth is losing myself to your Earth manners. Back on Homeworld, behavior such as mine is punishable by s-shattering..."

"You know we don't care! We like you as you are!" Amethyst interrupted her.

"This is NOT about you!" She'd tried not to let her feelings get the best of her, but she could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She clenched her fists strongly. "A peridot who can't fulfill its mission is useless, and Homeworld won't tolerate useless gems!"

"Well, guess what!? You are not on Homeworld anymore!" Amethyst raised her voice. Next to her, Steven observed the scene, unable to speak.

"That's right... I'm stuck on Earth! And as the stupid pebble I am, I don't want to leave anymore!" She realized what she'd just said and took her clenched fists to her head in frustration. No turning back. "And that's the worst part! I'm not only useless and defective, but now I'm also a traitor!"

"So what?! We all are!" Amethyst had her fists firmly clenched, and her cheeks had blushed slightly. "The Crystal Gems fought against Homeworld once and..." 

"Argh! Haven't you been paying attention?! The Homeworld you fought is nothing like the one I come from!" Her voice became sad. "You wouldn't stand a chance..." 

"What are you talking about?! We beat you!"

"Barely... You barely beat us. Barely able to beat a peridot, a single quartz and an exploration ship means nothing..."

"Ugh! Stop! If they come, we'll figure something out, like we always do!"

"No. No you won't." Her voice sounded gray and inexpressive. She could feel the cold fear invading her body. "There won't be any tricks, any secret weapons. When Homeworld realizes they're missing my reports, they'll know something's going on. And when they come, all they'll find to face them will be a permafusion, a pearl, an amethyst, a peridot and a hybrid. All of them defective. There's nothing more to it. We might be able to stop the Cluster, but after that all we'll be able to do will be sit down and wait." Her expression was hard. Amethyst felt her confidence shake at her words, and focused her eyes on the floor, trying to get her mind around it.

"But... Why are you... Why are you telling us all this? Why now?" Steven had his arms crossed, tightly hugging himself.

"Because..." She felt her knees weaken. "You're my friends. I... Care about you. And that'll be my doom. I'm too far gone, Steven. Maybe... You could save yourselves. Jasper was in command and she ordered me to transport you to Homeworld. Because of you." She directed her eyes to Steven. "Maybe if you don't fight... I'll get shattered but-"

"Stop!" Steven's eyes were wet with tears, but his voice was firm. "I... We'd never let you get shattered!" Amethyst raised her eyes at his words, and directed her view to him.

"What?!" Peridot took a step backwards, shocked by his words. "Did you even listen to what I just said?! That is not up to you to decide! When the time comes, there will be nothing you can do about..."

"Yes there will! I don't care what you say! I know we will find a way!" Steven kept his voice firm. In his eyes, Peridot saw fire. Her argument seemed to fall apart in her mind.

"Steven! You'd get shattered too!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Are you even listening to what you're saying?!" Peridot yelled.

"YES! And I mean it! There are things that are more important than not getting shattered!"

"There can't-"

"Like Earth! We'd rather be shattered before letting anyone hurt Earth. Or you! Right, Amethyst?" Amethyst smiled and nodded.

"But WHY?!" She felt tears on her cheeks, and a terrible hot feeling in her fists. She closed her eyes tightly. "I'm just a trait-"

"You're our friend! And that's what you do for friends! And Earth is our home!" Steven was crying too, but his voice didn't crack. "And Earth is your home too!" He quickly shortened the distance between himself and Peridot, and hugged strongly the latter.

Not for the first time, Peridot found that her thoughts got all mixed up when he hugged her. She hugged him back, unable to withhold her sobs. She felt the cold fear leaving her body as she held him tighter.

"There are things that are worth fighting for, Peridot." He whispered. "Like home, or friends. It doesn't matter if you can't win, you still have to protect the things you love. And we will protect you." 

His words resounded in her head strong and bright, and replaced the word Yellow Diamond had whispered in her dream. During all the time he hugged her, they stayed on her mind.

"You have to fight to protect the things you love. And we will protect you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I intended this to be a much longer chapter, but after struggling so much with just this bit I gave up and divided it in two chapters. That's why this doesn't match the preview I gave last chapter, about we getting to see what Pearl and Garnet are up to.
> 
> Next chapter shall be up next week!


	5. Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can every gem fight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter, heck the world! You guys deserve it. Not everything's good news though, go to the end of the chapter to find out more about it. Also, quick heads up, this chapter has nothing to do with what I've been saying about we finding out more about Pearl and Garnet's mission. The reason why is because things got a little out of hand with the length of this all, but I'm pretty happy with the result. So, forget about that. Thanks again for all the kudos/comments!

The silence inside Steven's house was broken when the warp pad activated. In a matter of seconds and in the middle of a flash, three figures materialized on top of it. Peridot had her arms crossed and her view focused on the ground. Beside her, Steven and Amethyst observed the green gem, in silence. She showed no sign of noticing their arrival at the house.

"Peridot...?" She didn't answer. "Are you..?"

"I'm fine." But her voice was empty. "I'll be inside the bathroom." She didn't look at them as she slowly walked to the door. She grabbed the knob.

"Peri... We..." Amethyst tried to say, but Peridot didn't seem to hear her. She opened the door and closed it carefully from the inside. Amethyst clenched her fists in frustration. Both she and Steven were left with a feeling of defeat.

"Do you... Do you think she'll be OK?" Steven's words were quiet and sad. His question made Amethyst uncomfortable, so she avoided looking at him.

"What do I know?" She stepped off the pad and walked over to the temple's door. "Just... Leave her alone for a while, 'K?" She didn't wait for an answer, as she entered the temple without looking back.

Steven was left alone in the room. With too many things on his mind, he headed to the kitchen and started preparing a late lunch. He wasn't really hungry, but inactivity didn't seem like a good option.

~~~

It was little before bed time when Garnet and Pearl arrived. Steven quickly turned off the TV and ran towards them. Amethyst, who was laying on the couch, sat down when the warp pad lit up, but she made no other move upon their arrival.

"Steven..?" Pearl was surprised at his reaction upon seeing them, but she knew something had happened when the kid practically jumped to hug her tightly. She corresponded by raising him from the ground and hugging him back. "Steven, what's wrong?" She spoke softly. Steven didn't seem hurt, so whatever was bugging him had to be emotional. Right next to her, Garnet put a hand on Steven's hair. The kid looked at them with watery eyes.

"I..." He looked over to the bathroom, which gave Garnet a clue on the nature of his problem. "Can we... Talk about it outside?" Steven wasn't sure if Peridot could hear them, but he didn't want to take the risk. As Pearl carried him outside, he thought about how much he could tell them without betraying Peridot's trust. Amethyst laid down again, seemingly uninterested. Garnet saw through it, though, as Amethyst looked at them apprehensively when she thought no one was watching.

Once outside, Pearl put Steven on the ground carefully. The sky was clear, and tons of star could be seen. The cold night wind gave Steven chills, as he was already in his pajamas. Garnet and Pearl looked at him expectantly.

"We... Went to the kindergarten..." "Why in the world would you do that again?!" Pearl wanted to ask, but she made an effort to remain quiet. Steven was clearly anxious, so interrupting him was probably not the best idea. "Peridot wanted to... Show us something." He refrained from telling them what. "She was really afraid... She called herself a t-traitor..." He couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes. "She t-thinks Homeworld won't forgive her f-for failing... That they'll s-shatter her... And... And..." He wanted to continue, but a sob stopped him. Pearl covered her mouth and Garnet kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's OK, Steven." Her voice was soft and caring. "We understand." Pearl nodded. "How is she?"

Steven calmed a little. "She's been inside the bathroom since we came back. She didn't..." He nervously rubbed her hands. "She didn't look too good."

Garnet stood up and directed her view to the stars, apparently absent minded. Steven thought she was probably using her future vision. Pearl spoke:

"Peridot... She's more than meets the eye. Does she honestly thinks of herself as a traitor now?" She questioned, speaking more for herself rather than the others. Garnet, however, answered her question.

"If she does, then she must be terribly afraid."

"She is! And we couldn't... Help her..." He remembered her sobs again and felt a lump in his throat.

"Don't blame yourself, Steven." Said Pearl, trying to calm the boy down. "She... This is a very personal decision. It's probably something she'll have to take care of on her own."

"But... When you did, you had mom by your side!" Pearl opened her mouth in surprise. The kid was right. "And she's all alone..." His dropped to the ground.

"She's not alone." Steven looked up, at Garnet. "She's got you and Amethyst. She trusts you. That's why she told you all that."

Her words didn't calm Steven. "But, what can we do? How can we... Help?"

Garnet hummed shortly before answering. "Why do you think she's so afraid?"

"Because... Homeworld might come to Earth and... Punish her?" Pearl gasped slightly upon his words, but Garnet showed no reaction.

"Well, that's one of the reasons." Steven was surprised by her response. "But... I'd say she's mostly afraid because she can't protect herself."

"She can't?" Steven frowned.

"Steven," Pearl answered for Garnet. "For all we know, she... peridots are not meant for fighting. If that's the case, and Peridot is like me before the war in any way, she's probably not the best fighter. We... We are all afraid of..." She looked at Steven doubtfully. "... Many things, but at least we know we can fight back. We've even managed to win so far!" Pearl forced herself to smile, but Steven felt shivers when he remembered all the ships Peridot had shown him. He could, however, understand what Garnet and Pearl were saying.

"So... You mean she's afraid because she... Feels weak?" Garnet smiled at his words. "But then... All she has to do is..." A smile crossed his face as realization lit up inside him. "Ah! I know what we have to do! I'll go get Amethyst!" He quickly opened the front door and entered, but, before closing it, he turned around and said:

"Thank you so much! I understand now!" He was smiling. Before they could answer, he turned around again and ran towards the purple gem.

Outside, Garnet and Pearl remained silent for a moment, facing the house. They observed as Steven practically dragged a reluctant Amethyst from the couch to the bathroom. Pearl was the first one to speak

"Where's all this going, Garnet?" Her vague question had a deep meaning. Garnet leaned against the railing and took a second before answering.

"Rose would have been proud of what he's doing. Of what they are doing." Pearl looked at her, waiting for a followup.

"They will ask her to learn to fight with us." Pearl expected her words. Even so, she couldn't help crossing her arms in a protective way.

"There's a possibility that she will accept." Garnet's tone was neutral., but her words sent a chill through Pearl's body.

"Garnet, this could end terribly wrong!" Pearl couldn't control herself anymore. "I... Just a few weeks before she tried to kill us! To kill him!" Her voice was full of pain, as she felt rage grow in her chest upon the memory. "She's harmless now, but..." Her words died as she shook her head.

"I know." Garnet kept her cool, but she avoided Pearl's eyes. "I know this won't be easy. But this is not about us, or her. We have to trust him." Pearl opened her mouth to talk, but she didn't give her the time. "If she accepts, I will too. I'll teach her." She spoke calmly but firmly.

Pearl wanted to reply, to say anything that could change her resolution, but she knew beforehand it was pointless. She dropped her view to the floor, feeling oddly empty of words. Suddenly, Garnet put a hand on her shoulder, and Pearl raised her eyes to look at her.

"Think of what would have been of us if gems weren't capable of changing." As she spoke, she smiled slightly.

Pearl clenched her fists, but she nodded.

"You're right." She opened her hands slowly, and smiled as well. "Rose would have been proud."

~~~

Once Steven stood in front of the bathroom door, all confidence in his idea seemed to leave his body. Amethyst, right next to him, didn't look too enticed by the idea of confronting her either. She was curious, however, about what had Pearl and Garnet told Steven to elicit such a change is his mood. Even if he felt nervous, Steven knew it had to be done. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

"Peridot? It's us!" He tried to sound cheerful.

After a second, the door opened quietly. They entered the dark room, growing concerned with each step. Steven turned on the light, which revealed Peridot sitting next to the tub. She was hugging her limb enhancer, and looked at them with inexpressive eyes. Next to Steven, Amethyst nervously rubbed her hands.

"Peridot..?"

"... Hello, Steven, Amethyst." her voice was neutral. Steven took a deep breath before speaking. When he did, he made sure to sound as confident as he could. What he was about to say was important.

"We've decided to help you become stronger!" His words seemed to resonate in the room for a second, before Peridot broke the silence.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, what?" Amethyst seemed as surprised as the green gem.

"Well... You're afraid, right?" He spoke without thinking.

"Yes..? So what?" Peridot narrowed her eyes, and Steven realized that was probably a touchy subject.

"Wait! We... We're afraid too!" Peridot's eyes grew bigger. "And I don't mean just us... Even Pearl and Garnet! We know other gems might come to Earth. We're afraid about that, about the cluster..." Peridot tipped her head. "But even if we are afraid, we won't give up! Even if you're right, and we can't win, we'll still fight with everything we have!"

"I know that. I've seen it." She frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything! We love Earth, so we train and get stronger to be able to protect it! We are the Crystal Gems! And we fight, even if we're afraid, for the things we love!" Steven couldn't help feeling excited upon his own words.

"Yeah, go Steven!" Amethyst said. Peridot, however, shook her head.

"Steven, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you can be strong too!" Peridot's mouth opened slightly. "So you can protect yourself! So you can protect the things you love!" Amethyst and Steven were openly smiling at that point. "You don't have to stop feeling afraid, but you can always stop feeling weak!" For a second, Peridot observed them incredulously. When she spoke, she made an effort to sound collected.

"That is not how it works." Amethyst's and Steven's smiles froze in place, suddenly feeling forced. "I'm a peridot. I couldn't fight even if I were interested in doing so." She spoke calmly, confident in her words.

"Wait! I know you think that way, but Pearl-"

"Is not a peridot." Her remark interrupted Steven's words. "I know she can fight, but that proves nothing. It doesn't mean I can do it." She she kept her tone neutral, yet hard. Steven felt his idea deflate with each of her words.

"Well you say that..." Steven was surprised by Amethyst's sudden playful tone, and so was Peridot. The green gem looked at her curiously. "But... I've seen you punching before." Peridot's eyes widened when she understood the implication of her words. "Aha!" Amethyst said triumphantly. "The drill still has the marks, Peri! If you can't fight, then how are you that strong, huh?" Amethyst smiled widely, obviously proud of her reasoning.

"Well..! I..!" Peridot tried to come up with a response, but found nothing. "Tsk! Fine! Maybe I can punch stuff! It's not like that's going to be of any help in a real battle!" She frowned her lips when Steven started talking.

"But you fought us!" Steven pointed at her. "You were outnumbered and you managed to escape every time!"

"Not every time. Besides, I had my limb enhancers back then. We know who's to blame for not having them anymore." Once again, she looked at them with narrow eyes. Amethyst seemed to shrink a little. "But nonetheless, this is pointless Steven. I get that you're trying to help me, and appreciate it, but this simply can't work. A peridot is not a fighter." Her solemn face quickly turned into an annoyed one when Amethyst spoke.

"Says who? Homeworld?" Her words made Peridot uncomfortable. "I told you, you are the one who should decide what you are. You said it yourself, right? 'A defective peridot'? Doesn't that mean you can do whatever you want or something?"

Peridot hummed angrily. "Watch what you're saying you..."

"What Amethyst means is...!" Steven quickly intervened, seeking to avoid disaster. "That you're probably not giving yourself enough credit!"

"Hmm..?"

"Think about it!" Steven counted with his fingers as he spoke. "You managed to give us some serious trouble to catch you! You beat Pearl in a robot fight! You even were willing to fight Garnet on your own!" Peridot felt a shiver when she remembered how angry she'd felt back then. "Does that sound like a regular non fighter Peridot?" Peridot opened her mouth to answer, but one more time she found nothing to say. His logic was undeniable.

"Well... All that is... True..." She admitted reluctantly. "But I failed two out of those times..."

"Duh! That's what training is for!" Amethyst and Steven smiled at her with hope in their eyes. Peridot found it was turning really hard for her to fight for her stance any longer. "What else can I lose?" She found the thought was oddly refreshing. "I'm not going to get more defective anytime soon." And yet, they were talking about training her to fight. It sounded reckless and dumb, but Peridot felt a shiver of excitement run through her body as she thought about it. The same feeling that she'd got each time she managed to outsmart and escape the Crystal Gems, or when she beat Pearl's robot with her own. It made her feel... Different. A different peridot, one that didn't need an escort, one that could protect herself. She realized not long before she'd have thought different was just another way of saying defective, and let out and annoyed grunt.

"Argh! This is ridiculous!" She took her hands to her head. "This planet, you..!" She struggled a little before continuing speaking. "And me... Fine. I'll take part of your dumb training just to prove it's pointl-"

"Yeah! Now we're talking!" Steven kneeled down and hugged her, laughing joyfully.

"What are you..?! Get off me, you pebble!" She tried to push him away, but she couldn't help feeling the corners of her lips stretching up slightly in a little smile.

"Yes alright! Oh, man, I can't wait to have someone else to fight! P. Never wants to and Garnet always beat me!" Amethyst seemed incredibly happy too, but her words made Peridot swallow thickly.

"I'm already starting to regret this..."

"No turning back nerd!" Amethyst snickered. "What are we waiting for?" She grabbed Steven with both hands and raised him over her head, breaking his embrace with Peridot. "Lets go outside!"

"Wait! It's too late!" Steven yelled, hanging head down. "We better start tomorrow!"

"Aww!" She put Steven on the floor unceremoniously. "I guess you're right. Tomorrow is training day!" She gestured, punching her hand. "Can I at least see your weapon?" She directed pleading eyes to the green gem, still sitting on the floor and observing their shenanigans with a little disapproval. When she heard the question, however, Peridot's cheeks blushed slightly.

"I-I... What? N-No, of course not! You said tomorrow is training day, right? I better show you tomorrow, then!" She smiled awkwardly. Steven and Amethyst looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Fine, you weirdo." Amethyst smiled. "Oh man, I can't wait!" She kept smiling as she walked out of the bathroom. Steven stayed behind. Once she left, he turned around and looked at Peridot.

"'Dot?" Steven said.

"Y-Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Hmm? For what?" Peridot was honestly confused.

"Trusting us." He smiled widely. "See you tomorrow! Good night!" As he stepped out of the bathroom, Peridot couldn't think of proper words to reply.

The bathroom was filled with silence once again. Peridot got up and stood in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection. She sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?" For him, she thought. For them. Her friends. She sighed one more time. It was going to be a long night.

~~~

The next day, when Peridot heard a knock on the door, she couldn't help feeling a tight knot in her stomach. She heard Amethyst's voice outside.

"Peri! Come on, it's so late already!"

"I don't think it's past nine yet." She heard Steven reply. "But, Peridot, can I come in? I need to use the bathroom."

Peridot took a deep breath. It was pointless to try to prolong the inevitable, she thought. As she grabbed the knob, however, she found it difficult to move her arm. She stood there for a second, gathering courage. "It'll be fine. They are my friends. They wouldn't..." She unconsciously tightened her grip on the knob. "No... I'm sure they wouldn't." With all her will, she opened the door.

"Great!" Amethyst grabbed her hand and pulled her outside in a matter of seconds. All Peridot did was gasp. "Lets go! Oh man, you're going to love this!"

"Wait for me! I'll be out in a sec!" Steven closed the door from the inside as Peridot let herself be dragged outside the house by Amethyst. The light blinded her for a second as they stepped out the front door.

"Wait Amethyst..! I..." She tried to talk, but the purple gem wasn't listening. It was at that moment that Peridot realized they weren't alone on the beach. Pearl and Garnet were observing them, standing a few feet away from the house.

"We told them everything! Pearl says she can help too!" Amethyst smiled. Her words made Peridot dizzy.

"You did what?!" She almost yelled. Amethyst opened her mouth, surprised at her reaction, but Peridot quickly tried to rephrase her words. "I mean... You did that! Thanks..?" She looked at Pearl, who had raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Wait! I'm coming!" She barely heard Steven yell from inside the bathroom. Peridot tried to catch her breath; things were going too fast.

"Ok! So this is how we'll do it!" Amethyst talked with sheer excitement. "You show us what you've got and then we'll decide which of our styles fits you best! That's the one you'll start training with!"

"What I've got..?" Through the corner of her eye, she saw Steven coming out of the bathroom in a hurry.

"Your weapon, duh!" Amethyst's words tightened the knot in her stomach. "I hope it's something cool so you can train with me!" Her delighted smile was almost too much for Peridot to handle. She heard Pearl's voice:

"Amethyst, you're overdoing it!" She was using her nagging tone, but Amethyst didn't seem to mind. When Pearl looked at Peridot her voice was calm, almost caring. "Now Peridot, I know she makes it seem like a lot to you, but you don't have to worry." Pearl was making a serious effort to sound supportive. "We'll start from the basics and see that you feel relaxed before actually fighting one of us." Peridot gulped, her words did not ease her doubts.

"Alright! Enough talking! Summon your weapon, Peri!" Pearl frowned her lips at Amethyst's words, but Peridot wasn't looking at her. Her view was centered on Garnet, who hadn't talked, but had been observing her with attention the whole time. Perhaps too much attention. "Does she... Know?!" Her eyes widened as she avoided the fusion's gaze. There was no way she could know, she thought, and she really wanted to believe it.

"I..." She looked around her. Steven was already outside, breathing heavily but smiling at her. The other Crystal Gems had their attention centered on her too. Peridot felt her knees shake. She wished for something to happen, anything that could grant her a chance to escape her... Situation. But, as it was expected, nothing did. She sighed. "A-Alright..."

She closed her eyes to help her focus on the task at hand. She took a deep breath, trying to relax, but the almost unbearable tension didn't seem to want to go away. Focusing on her gem, Peridot made her best effort. She concentrated in summoning her very own weapon, the symbol of her decision to fight, to stop feeling weak, and she felt...

She felt nothing.

Just like the night before.

It was like looking for something that wasn't there, like trying to bring to existence something that didn't exist. Fluttered, she realized she didn't even know if she was doing it properly. Time passed and every moment Peridot grew more anxious. She clenched her fists and yelled at herself internally, trying to force her way past her own incapability and ignorance, but nothing changed. Frustrated, Peridot felt her cheeks blush.

"Peridot..?" Pearl talked. Peridot pretended not to hear her. "Is everything... Are you alright?"

"Peri?" Amethyst didn't sound cheerful anymore. "Does this mean..?" Before she could finish the question, Peridot let out a frustrated grunt. When she spoke, her words were angry and dry.

"Yes! That's exactly what it means!" She yelled with her eyes closed. "I'm just a dumb peridot who doesn't know how to summon her weapon! I spent all night trying to do it so that I could 'train' with you today, but I... I failed!" She lowered her voice. "I can't even get this right... I'm... Sorry." She didn't open her eyes, too afraid to face the Crystal Gems. She kept her fists clenched, standing in the middle of the sand and feeling more out of place than ever. She thought about escaping, running inside the house, but at that moment she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find herself looking directly into Pearl's eyes.

"Hey, now. We... Didn't mean to put so much pressure on you. We thought you wanted to this, but we did wrong to expect you to do it by yourself." The softness of her words made Peridot open her mouth in awe. "You don't have to feel bad for not knowing how to summon your weapon in... I assume this is your first try?"

"I... I've never needed to before..." Peridot mumbled.

"I see. It was the same for me, you know?" She laughed slightly. "I couldn't summon it on my first try either."

"I couldn't either!" Steven said, attracting their attention. "Actually it's still hard from time to time." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

Peridot's eyes shifted from him to Amethyst. She didn't seem disappointed, contrary to what she'd expected.

"But I don't understand! You were so excited about..." She started saying.

"Meh, don't worry about it." The purple gem interrupted her. "Actually this is kind of cool. Now we both get to be surprised when you do it." She smiled happily. Peridot couldn't help shaking her head in confusion.

"I don't... I don't even know if... A peridot can... If I can..." She crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly.

"Of course you can." She turned around to look at Garnet, who had been quiet so far. "You're a perfectly functional gem. Don't underestimate you." Garnet gave her half a smile. "In fact, even if other peridots can't... You can tell better than me, that you're not like all the other peridots." She couldn't understand why, but Peridot felt certain that she was right. She was no longer like other peridots, be it for good or bad. One more time, Peridot looked around, expecting disappointment and mockery. All she saw were smiles on everyone's faces.

"I... Don't understand... I failed!" She said.

"No way!" Steven spoke. "You gave it your best shot! I know you didn't do it, but this is just the first step! That's not failing, that's just trying!" Pearl smiled and nodded at his words. Peridot could only watch him in awe, trying to understand. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to recover her composure.

"I... See." She crossed her arms behind her back. "I have... Something to tell you. To all of you." Everyone looked at her expectantly. "Thank you. For..." She couldn't find the right words, so she contented with one. "Everything. I still don't know about this... Fighting business, but I'll... I want to give it a shot. I'll be honored to train with you."

"Now, that's more like it!" Peridot was surprised by the cheerful tone in Garnet's voice. It was the first time she'd heard it directed to her. "Now we know where to start. Summoning a weapon is not always easy for new gems."

"It's not? Wait... New?" Steven questioned, but Garnet wasn't the one to answer. Instead, Pearl said:

"It most certainly isn't!" She raised a finger a she spoke. "In fact, some gems have so much trouble doing it that they use actual weapons and not their own during their first years of battle."

"Huh? Is that why you keep so many swords in your room?" Steven asked.

"W-Wha..?" Pearl blushed slightly. "No! Well... Yes, but..."

"Not me though!" Amethyst grinned proudly. "I've been doing it since I can remember!"

"I know!" Everyone looked at Peridot, and she realized her words could easily be mistaken. "I mean..! I've seen quartzes summoning their weapons with ease since their fist try." She avoided their eyes. "I don't know about any other gem that's tried and... Failed..."

"Don't worry." Pearl spoke nonchalantly. "It might be easier for some than others, but with dedication and hard work, you can master it too!" She spoke with delight, clearly happy to share her knowledge. "If you want, we can teach you." She didn't wait for her answer. "Let me try first!"

"Great, here comes the petal talk." Amethyst mumbled, but it didn't slip past Pearl, as she pouted and hummed angrily.

"Wait!" Everyone's attention centered on Steven. "You are clearly not the best choice to teach her." As he spoke, he crossed his hands behind his back, pretending to be more serious than he actually was.

"Steven! What do you mean?" Pearl didn't seem to take it lightly.

"Exactly, what?" Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"Well, as it turns out, I'm the one who should teach you!" He pointed at her dramatically. Peridot looked at his finger incredulously. "Think about it! I learned how to do it not so long ago, I almost never have trouble doing it now..." He looked at Pearl and the others, who were watching him doubtfully. "Aaaand! Sorry guys, but your advice didn't work for me." He shrugged. "Trust me, I can do it!" He smiled widely, but Pearl shook her head.

"Steven, I don't think that's how it-"

"Steven can do it." Garnet declared.

"Yes!" He raised his arms triumphantly, as Pearl looked at Garnet with her mouth still half open. "Great! What do you say?" He looked at Peridot expectantly. The green gem had more than a few doubts about it, but his smile seemed too bright to break it. She sighed mentally.

"I... Alright. Yes, you can... Teach me." It felt weird saying it, but it was worth when she saw Steven's eyes brighten upon her words.

"Oh, man! This will be awesome! I know exactly what to do!" He spoke cheerfully. Suddenly, however, he turned serious. "Just one thing..." Peridot narrowed her eyes at his tone. "Are you willing to go the town with me?" He sounded doubtful, and for a good reason. The question made Peridot uncomfortable, as that would mean more direct contact with humans.

"I... Is it really necessary?"

"Ehr, kinda..."

Peridot hummed. She wasn't particularly excited about interacting with humans, although she remembered the feeling she'd gotten from the Connie during their shared 'sleepover'. She hadn't been annoying, in fact, her presence had been pleasant. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she decided. "Fine! I'm willing to put up with it, if you think it might help." She assumed a stoic face that was quickly replaced by a slightly annoyed one when Steven grabbed her hand.

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!" He said.

"Wait, what?" Steven pulled her a little, and she was forced to pull back. "But what about the drill? What about the Cluster?" She directed her eyes to Garnet. Before giving any response, the latter pushed up her glasses.

"This is more important, yes." Peridot opened her mouth to reply, but Garnet wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead she said to Steven: "Don't let her get in trouble."

"Got it!" He said joyfully. Steven started running towards the city, dragging a confused Peridot with him.

"Steven, wait!" She yelled, trying to keep up the pace. The Crystal Gems observed them go, Amethyst smiling half way.

"They're totally going to get in trouble." She said.

"Amethyst!" Pearl said in reproach.

"Probably." Said Garnet, right before turning back and walking into the house. Pearl pouted as Amethyst snickered lowly.

~~~

"Wow! These are all... Donuts?" Peridot practically stuck her head to the glass, admiring the seemingly unending variety of colors of the objects inside it. From behind the counter, Lars and Sadie interchanged nervous looks.

"Now there's five of them?" Said Lars, speaking lowly. Sadie hit him on the side with her elbow. "Be nice!" She mumbled.

"Yes, of course!" Steven explained, adopting a tone that denoted expertise. "They all have different flavors too, you know?"

"What? No way!" Peridot didn't look away from the round and colorful objects, until she heard a different voice talking to her.

"You can have one if you want! The first one's on the house." She raised her eyes to look at the yellow haired human that had talked. Under her eyes, Sadie smiled and blushed slightly.

"On the house..?" She said, doubtfully.

"It means free!" Steven clarified. Then he added, speaking lower. "It's really polite from her offer you one!"

"Polite?" She raised an eyebrow and cleared her throat before speaking. "Thank you. I'll have one, human." Sadie observed her before speaking, distracted by Peridot's unusually serious tone.

"My name's Sadie." She said, without thinking.

Peridot blinked twice. "I..! I'll have one, Sadie." She couldn't help blushing slightly, and Sadie smiled when she noticed.

"One donut, coming right up!" She said cheerfully. "Which one would you like?"

"That brown one!" She pointed at a chocolate donut.

"I want one of those too, please!" Said Steven.

"So, green kid!" Lars, with a bored expression, said. "You are new around here, right?"

"Hmm?" She didn't understand the word 'kid', but she knew she was referring to her. "Positive. I was assigned a task at this planet not so long ago." Lars raised an eyebrow at her words. "And you are..?"

"Me?" Lars seemed awkward for a moment, but he quickly regained his usual cocky appearance. "I'm just the coolest guy around!" He pointed at his chest.

"Coolest..." Peridot frowned her lips. At that moment, Sadie offered her and Steven the donut they'd picked, and she grabbed hers.

"Hey, you haven't told us your name!" She said, trying to distract her from Lars.

"My name's Peridot." Imitating Lars, she pointed at her chest with her empty hand. "I'm an engineer and a certified kidergartener." She said, speaking proudly.

"Aww!" Sadie took her hands to her cheeks. "That is adora-" She stopped, as she saw Steven running his index finger against his throat repeatedly, in a very expressive gesture. "I-I mean! Great..?"

"Hmm? Yes, great." Peridot didn't seem to notice Steven and Sadie's nonverbal exchange. She turned around, and looked at the boy. "Steven, what is the purpose that brought us here? How is this going to help me summon my weapon?" She carefully sniffed the donut in her hand. It didn't smell that much, but it reminded her of the other one she'd had.

"Oh yeah!" He spoke with his mouth half full of donut. "Well, here's where everything started when I summoned my weapon the first time!" He swallowed before continuing. "I went home and ate a cookie cat!" Peridot observed him confused. "It's another kind of food. So, I thought maybe you could get something here that can help you summon yours!"

"By... Eating?" She looked doubtfully at the donut in her hand. " I've done that before. I'm pretty sure that's not ho-" As she spoke, she realized Steven was smiling at her hopefully, and she stopped. One more time, she sighed mentally. "Fine! I'll just... Feed." Suddenly the donut didn't seem too appetizing. Even so, she took a bite out of it, bravely. The flavor and texture was still an odd experience, but she verified she could handle it a lot better. When she swallowed, she waited for something to happen. No flash of light or sudden new abilities seemed to appear, and she shrugged.

"It just doesn't seem to be working..."

"Aww!" Steven seemed truly disappointed, but he quickly changed his mood. "But don't worry! I still have plenty of ideas." He smiled widely. "Maybe if you ate ice cream..."

"No more eating, Steven." Peridot narrowed her eyes.

"Ah! OK! Lets just..." He laughed nervously. "Lets just go, I think I know what could work." He grabbed her hand and walked to the front door. Peridot let herself be dragged, resigned.

"Goodbye you two!" Said Sadie.

"Goodbye!" Steven turned around and said.

"Goodbye Sadie, coolest guy around." Peridot said, distracted, as they walked out the store. Inside, Lars blinked twice before speaking.

"Ha! What do you know? Maybe she's not all that lame!" He grinned proudly. Sadie rolled her eyes and giggled.

~~~

"Where are we going?" She asked, while observing everything around her with caution. Humans also looked at her curiously as they walked by, but no one's attention lasted more than just a couple of seconds. Even so, Peridot couldn't help feeling a little intimidated.

"You'll see when we get there!" Steven walked beside her, but he hadn't release her hand. Peridot didn't mind that much anymore. "I think it's the perfect place for you to find what you're good at!"

"But I know what I'm good at!" She raised an eyebrow. "This is about my incapacity to summon my we-"

"Ahh!" A human yelled as he pointed at her, startling both her and Steven. "You!" His eyes seemed to be about to leave their sockets. Peridot quickly got behind Steven, clinging to his arm while emitting a quiet "Eeep!"

"Oh, hey Renaldo." Steven quickly recovered from his initial shock.

"Steven! B-Behind you!" He didn't stop pointing with his finger. "It's the android!" Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and quickly picked the object hanging from his neck. He pointed it at them, but it didn't react when he pressed the button. "No! No roll!" His mortified expression left clear something had gone wrong. He quickly started running towards a random direction, or at least Peridot thought so. He turned around before leaving and yelled: "Steven, keep it busy! I'll be back in one second!" He continued to run and left Peridot wondering if the whole scene had actually happened; it probably hadn't last more than a couple moments.

"What in the world was he up to!?" She asked, still clinging to Steven's arm.

"Oh! He's Renaldo. He... He's weird like that. Sorry if he scared you!" He smiled awkwardly. Peridot looked around, making sure he wasn't there anymore.

"Can we... Go now?" She asked.

"Uh? Yeah! Lets keep going!" Peridot didn't let go of him as they kept walking, doubling her efforts of spotting anything unusual in their surroundings. Steven didn't seem to mind.

"Here we are! Funland Arcade!" He said, raising his arms dramatically, as they stepped in front of a different building. Peridot raised an eyebrow upon hearing its name, but she observed the inside of it with attention.

"What are... Those?" She pointed at the machines.

"They're called videogames! You're gonna love them! Come on, lets go!" Once again, he grabbed her hand and walked up to one of the machines. Peridot, mesmerized, observed the flashing colors on the screen. They didn't make any sense at first sight, but soon she realized she was looking at representations of little humans.

"Steven..? This is... Weird..."

"Huh? No, they're fun!" He smiled reassuringly. "It's just a way to pass time!" Peridot frowned her lips, still doubtful. "Here, let me show you." Peridot observed with attention as Steven deposited two rounded objects inside the machine, and quickly put his hands on the buttons. "Now, this is a fighting game. You press this button to punch, and this other one to kick, and..." He realized she was looking at him with her mouth half open, utterly confused. "Just... Imitate what I do."

~~~

"Like this?" Peridot's fingers quickly moved over the buttons, pressing them with calculated rhythm. "Steven! Am I doing it?!" She didn't dare look away from the screen, impressed by the quickly changing combination of flashing colors.

"Yeah, keep it up! You're about to win!" He said cheerfully, although a hint of tension could be heard in his voice. "Just one more hit!"

"There!" Peridot relaxed her shoulders as one of the figures on the screen flew from one side of it to the other, symbolizing defeat. "Did... Did I do it?"

"Yeah, you did! Oh, man, you were awesome!" Steven's voice sounded honestly excited.

"I... Was?" Peridot, in the other hand, sounded a lot more doubtful.

"Are you kidding me? You beat the final boss!" He took his hands to his head, dramatically. "I can't believe you learned this fast!" He smiled widely. Peridot felt herself blush, surprised by his words. She regained her composure quickly, however, and she pointed at her chest before speaking.

"Ha! Yes!" She smiled proudly. "Human distractions are no match for my amazi-"

"There you are!" A voice interrupted her, and she didn't have to turn around to know whose was it. "Quickly, Steven! Grab it, before it tries to fly away!" Peridot felt an unpleasant shiver in her back.

"Renaldo, wait! She's just..."

"Steven, lets go!" This time, she grabbed his hand and dragged him running towards the exit. Steven didn't try to resist. Peridot could clearly hear exclamations of surprise emitted by the few humans around her, as she ran past them. "Quickly! A hideout!" She yelled. She didn't have to turn around to know they were being followed, as the annoying human yelled: "Wait! I just need some answers!"

"A what?!" Steven tried to keep up with her, still confused by the quick development of the events. "Oh! Got it!" He made his best effort to run faster than her. "Follow me!" He took the lead, turning around the corners with denoted expertise. Soon, Peridot realized she was completely lost, but at least she couldn't hear the human running after them anymore. Steven was leading them out of town, running up a hill, towards a tall and thin building. Steven was breathing heavily, but he didn't stop until they they were atop the hill and behind it. Once there, however, he dropped to the ground with a sigh.

Peridot stood behind the building and peeked around the corner, trying to find any sign that showed they had been followed. She saw nothing, however, and she sat on the ground a few feet away from Steven, sighing too.

"Are you alright?" She raised an eyebrow at Steven's heavy breathing.

"I..." He panted. "Will be..!" He took a deep breath. "Fine!" But he continued to lie down, breathing out loudly.

Peridot raised her eyes and observed the magnitude of the building she was sitting against.

"What is this thing?" She asked, curiously.

"It's a lighthouse!" He paused and took a deep breath, but he seemed to be feeling better. "During the night and during storms, it shows that there's land here..." He paused again, and Peridot waited patiently. "So that boats don't crash!" He finished.

"Boats..?"

"Oh, they're a kind of ship!" Steven sat down. "We travel inside them on the sea." He pointed to it as he spoke. Only then Peridot realized how good of a view they had from up there. The blue of the sea seemed to extent endlessly, and Peridot found looking at it gave her a peaceful feeling.

"There are many things I don't know about Earth..." She said, mostly to herself.

"Don't worry about it!" Peridot looked at Steven, and the latter smiled happily. "You'll have plenty of time to learn!"

Upon hearing his words, Peridot blinked twice, surprised. "I..." She couldn't find the right words to describe her thinking, so she contented with nodding. This made Steven's smile widen.

"Alright! This was fun!" He stood up and walked up to Peridot, just to sit by her side.

"Steven?"

"Yes?"

"Was this whole thing an excuse to make me come to the town with you?" She almost heard Steven choke on his tongue.

"Wha-What?!" He blushed, and avoided her eyes. "Of c-course not! I didn't... I wouldn't..." He stopped talking for a second, remembering his promise of not lying to her again. "Yeah..." Peridot's eyes narrowed. "Not all of it though!" He raised his arms defensively. "I thought the donut might work, and maybe we could find a game that would fit your style! I thought that could help you summon it too..." He laughed awkwardly, but it didn't last long. "I'm sorry..." He looked at his hands nervously.

Peridot stayed quiet for a moment, observing the sea. "Don't be." Steven raised his eyes and looked at her, surprised. "Most of it... Was fun." Steven recovered his smile and he put a hand over Peridot's shoulders, grinning joyfully. Peridot didn't mind. They sat there, observing the sea, and Peridot rested her head against his arm, thinking of everything that could be. For once, she allowed herself to be optimistic. Maybe they'd be able to stop the Cluster, maybe Homeworld would forget about them. Steven started humming a song. Maybe, she thought, she'd learn to live on Earth.

"We are the Crystal Gems..." He sang, and Peridot realized how pretty his voice was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very well! Bad news are... I'm starting exam week! Plus, I'll probably be out of town during most of this month, so long story short, I won't have that much time to write these days. But fear not! I'll not go full Crewniverse on you! (Too soon?) Instead of an actual hiatus, lets just call this... A baby-sized hiatus. (Aww, baby-sized) Meaning that I won't actually stop writing. Instead, updates for the rest of the month will not be regular: I might publish once every two weeks, or even slightly faster than usual, If I happen to get some extra free time. Also, I'll go back and try to look for grammar goofs in previous chapters, so I might change some things that I'm not completely happy about how I wrote them, but nothing too big.
> 
> One more thing! Some of you have given me your ideas about what you'd like to see in future chapters. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to introduce all of those in the story, some of them, I believe, would work better as separate fics. So, if you guys think it's fair play, I'll create a 'request story' in wich I'll write those stories that will, sadly, become non-canon for my main Fic, the one you're reading.
> 
> That's all for today! Stay awesome!


	6. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's changed more than she knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild new chapter appears! And it's kind of... short..! Hey ya'll, chapter 6 is on. Thanks for the comments/kudos! They're all always appreciated.

"Argh! This is not working!" She yelled. "I knew this was a bad idea!"

Pearl hummed angrily. "Peridot, you're not even giving yourself a chance!"

Standing a few feet away from them, Connie observed their exchange of words with little more than a few concerns. She'd have wanted to intervene, but she had no idea how that could have helped. The sky was clear that day, and the sun shined orange with its last rays for the day at the Sky Arena. It'd have been a good day for training, but they'd spent most of the time on arguments like the one happening at that moment. Saying that Peridot got frustrated each time she failed at summoning her weapon would've been an understatement.

"Are you kidding? I've given it all!" Peridot clenched her fists. "I just can't do it!" She turned her back on Pearl and walked to the edge of the Sky Arena. Connie could almost see the steam coming out of her head. Pearl sighed.

"Connie, dear, can you wait for us on the warp pad?" She didn't look at her as she spoke. "Training's over. This... Will only take a minute." She didn't wait for her answer, too distracted with the green gem sitting on the edge of the arena, but Connie still replied with a firm "Yes, ma'am." She turned around to grab her things, wishing to stay, but deciding to obey. Pearl was on her own, but the tall gem could handle her, she thought, as she walked her way up the stairs leading to warp pad.

Peridot crossed her arms defensively when Pearl sat by her side.

"I know what you are going to say." Her voice was dry, angry. "But I don't see how I'm capable of it. I should've known, there's no way a peridot can summon a weapon..."

Pearl had to make an effort to keep her cool. She was trying to be sympathetic, but the green gem was stubborn to the point of being tiring. "I don't..." She struggled to find the right words. "I believe your attitude is not the appropriate."

Peridot didn't answer. Instead, she frowned her lips.

"You have to understand... I've been on your place before. In more than one way." The other gem didn't look at her, but Pearl thought she saw her expression soften a little. "Learning to fight can be... Difficult, at the very least, for gems like us." She looked over to the horizon, at the beautiful sunset. "When I had to do it, I was very afraid. You never forget you're not supposed to fight..." Peridot looked at her, and Pearl looked back. "But I was also very proud." She smiled. "And excited."

"But... Why?" Peridot looked down at her folded arms. "Even if I can... If I summon my weapon, what difference can I make? In a real battle, I'd just get shattered."

"Oh, but you don't know that." Pearl spoke. "I don't know how strong I am when compared to Homeworld's warriors at the present time, but I like to think I made even the slightest difference during the war. I was OK with being shattered, as long as it happened while I was trying my best."

"But why?" Peridot repeated. "If you're just going to die, then why even bother..." She didn't like her own words, but for all she knew, they were true.

Much to Peridot's surprise, Pearl smiled. "I understand how you think. It's different from what I felt back then, or what I feel now for that matter, but I understand." She remained quiet for a moment. "Let me ask you something. Why do you want to learn to fight?"

"Why?" Peridot frowned. "So that Steven and Amethyst get off my back?" Pearl giggled slightly, but Peridot knew she was waiting for a serious answer. "I think... I want to stop feeling weak." She was surprised by her own words, as they came out quite naturally. "But... I don't even know if I can..."

"Your heart is in the right place." Pearl spoke looking at the sunset again. "But your mind is in the way."

"Meaning... What?" Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"Meaning that you're the only one stopping you from summoning your own weapon." Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but Pearl didn't give her the chance. "My reason has always been the same. Love." The word stopped Peridot's reply dead on its track. "I learned to love the Earth with Rose Quartz, and when Homeworld decided to harm it... I had to protect it. I fought beside her to protect her and her ideals. Those were things worth fighting for. Dying for, even. In fact, they still are..." She looked over to the horizon, abstracted, thinking, perhaps, of old battles and foes. Peridot felt some well deserved respect for her.

Pearl's words reminded Peridot of Steven's. Fighting to protect the things they love; friends, Earth, their ideals. The Crystal Gems were an odd group, she thought. Fighting to protect other things, not only themselves, even if it meant getting shattered in the process. Peridot sighed, overwhelmed, and the sound she made brought Pearl to reality.

"It's late already." She stood up and offered Peridot a hand. The latter accepted it and stood up too. "We better continue tomorrow. I trust you're still willing to..?"

"I..." Peridot doubted, but just for a little. "Yes. Yes, I am."

Pearl smiled. "That's the spirit! Today was boring because we tried too hard on just one thing. Tomorrow, I'll bring a sword for you, and that way you can start practicing even if you still have trouble summoning your own weapon. We still don't know what it'll be, but a little sword training's never hurt nobody." She spoke cheerfully as they walked to the Pad, where Connie was waiting. Peridot felt a shiver run through her body at the very mention of sword training. What she was doing still stroke her with a sense of surreality.

"Peridot?" Connie spoke as they all stepped on the Warp Pad. Peridot looked at her curiously, and, much to her surprise, the human granted her a wide smile. "I think you can do it!" She said, joyfully. Peridot experimented a strange lack of words, but she nodded and smiled as well, only a little awkward. Pearl smiled above them, and neither of them noticed.

As the Warp Pad activated and the beach house materialized around them, Peridot thought about the odd concept of dying for someone else. She'd experienced a bit of it, she realized, back when the drill accident was about to hurt Amethyst. Maybe she wouldn't have been shattered, but at that moment she hadn't thought about it. Perhaps the Crystal Gems weren't so strange, she thought. She could understand how protecting Steven or Amethyst would be more important than herself. Friends were valuable like that. Ideals or planets however... She was still lost in thought when the light around them dissipated, and the first thing she saw was Steven sitting on the couch next to Garnet.

"You are back!" He greeted them with a smile. Sitting next to him, Garnet observed them with attention. "How did it go?"

"Not... Great." Peridot avoided his eyes, visibly uncomfortable.

"Nonsense!" Pearl spoke nonchalantly, stepping off the warp pad and making Peridot frown her lips at her words. "Nobody expected you to do it on the first day. The important thing is you're on your way to becoming a strong, capable gem."

"Yeah, right..." Peridot mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She quickly replied. She also stepped off the pad, walking up to Steven. Connie did the same, but she didn't stop in front of him, instead, she sat by his side. Peridot crossed her arms behind her back before speaking. "How did it go for you? Did you manage to make any improvements on the drill?"

"You wish!" Amethyst's sudden words made Peridot jump in her place with a surprised imprecation. She hadn't noticed the purple gem, who had possibly been behind the 'kitchen' counter, doing who knows what. Amethyst noticed her reaction and grinned, but made no comments about it. "Without you nerds we ain't gonna finish that thing anytime soon."

"I know." Peridot quickly regained her composure. "I sincerely hope my training doesn't get in the way of its development."

"It won't." Garnet's voice was relaxed. "We'll make good progress working on it, even if you are only present half of the day. Besides, your training is also important."

"Yeah, right." This time she didn't bother mumbling. Garnet showed no sign of hearing her words, so Peridot added: "Like my combat skills would be relevant if we were to face a gem experiment that doubles the size of this planet. Or any other threats, for that matter." She spoke with a crooked smile, halfway serious. She didn't realized, but her words made Connie's eyes widen. Garnet, however, seemed to intensify her stare behind her glasses.

"Do not underestimate yourself." Garnet's voice was serious, and her simple words made Peridot feel uncomfortable.

"Tsk." The sound came out of her mouth as she looked away from the fusion. The tension in the room rose, and everyone noticed the sudden change. Steven didn't wait for more, as he quickly made his move.

"Connie! You need a ride? Lets ask dad!" The girl opened her mouth to answer, but something in the way he looked at her made her stop. "Peridot, do you want to come with?" He added, smiling at the green gem.

"Hmm?" She momentarily forgot her exchange with Garnet. "Sure, why not? Perhaps meeting this 'dad' you mention so often will prove to be an interesting experience." She took her hand to her chin, speaking thoughtfully. "If he's as smart as you made him seem, then this day won't go to waste completely." Her words made Pearl frown her lips, but Steven was decided to not let the mood drop.

"Oh, you're in for a treat, trust me." He spoke confidently, but the other three Crystal Gems winced slightly. Connie contented with smiling. "You know he managed to decipher a wailing stone message with nothing but his van and his sound equipment?" As he spoke, he stood up and put a hand over Peridot's shoulders, walking with her to the front door.

"Hmm..." Peridot raised an eyebrow. "Connie? What's a... 'Van'?" Connie stood up and walked with them, carrying her bag. The three left the house as Connie explained the meaning of the word. Inside the house, the remaining Crystal Gems looked at them go.

"How did she do?" Garnet asked. The emphasis she put on the word 'did' didn't slip past Pearl. Amethyst looked at her too, waiting for an answer.

"Well... It's a little too early to make judgments right now..." The others kept their eyes on her. Pearl sighed. "She... She's what I'd expected in a lot of ways... Negative, stubborn... But I believe she can do it!" She tried to sound positive, but her tone changed immediately. "It's just... She doesn't." She sighed again. "It's all inside her right now. There's just so much that we can do..."

Garnet nodded. Amethyst mumbled: "Bummer..."

~~~

"So 24 hours make a day! Each hour has 60 minutes, and each minute has 60 seconds." Peridot made an effort to keep up with Connie's fast explanation. "Then, 7 days make a week, and 365 days, or 52 weeks, make a year! Oh, except when it's a leap year! That happens every-"

"Argh, wait! I'm..." She hated to admit it, but she did. "Lost..." She avoided looking at her directly, feeling embarrassed. "Why has everything on Earth to be so complicated?!" She couldn't help sounding exasperated.

They were walking, on their way to Greg's car wash. Connie had taken it upon herself to try to explain to Peridot how Earth calendars worked. The task was proving to be quite more complicated than she'd expected. She smiled awkwardly at Peridot's words.

"Huh? How do you measure days in space then?" Steven asked, curious.

"You don't!" Connie smiled widely, answering instead of Peridot. The latter seemed surprised for a second, but nodded. "Think about it, Steven. All of our time measurements are based around seconds, which are just a fraction of an hour, which is just a fraction of a day, which is just a fraction of a year! But days and years are based of the rotations of our planet, Earth. So, if you're in space, there is no day and night, and there's no need to measure days!" She spoke cheerfully, obviously excited about her own reasoning.

"Wow... Cosmic!" Steven sounded very impressed. Peridot, in the other hand, kept her cool.

"Yes, that is how it works. Except..." She added, with a slight tone of superiority. "We can still keep track of days, based of Homeworld's rotation cycles, even if we are not in its orbit. Our system is not very different from yours, but I find it less... Unnecessarily complicated." She spoke with just a hint of pride.

Connie giggled. "I'm sure there are a few things odd about it too..." Peridot was preparing to answer, when Steven announced:

"We're here!"

To Peridot, all human buildings looked like the same. That one, however, caught her attention immediately thanks to its bright neon sign. Of course, she didn't know what it represented, or that it was neon.

"What does it say?" She asked Connie, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a wash!" Steven answered instead. "It's the name of my dad's car wash." Pride could be heard in his voice. "Wait here, I'll go get him!" He entered the building, leaving Peridot with more questions than before. When Steven came out of the building, he was grabbing another human's hand. For an unimaginable reason, the newcomer was covering his eyes with his free hand.

"This better not be a hose fight ambush, you rascal!" He spoke cheerfully.

"Don't worry, it isn't! But no peeking!" Steven guided him until he was standing in perfect position, just a few feet in front of Peridot. The latter observed the human and blinked twice, seemingly surprised at his appearance. Beside her, Connie giggled, appreciating the weirdness of it all.

"Now, dad, I want you to remember, she's a friend now." Steven's words turned serious, and Greg felt concern growing in his chest.

"She..?"

"Uncover!" He released his hand and raised his arms dramatically. Greg did as he was told, still oddly uncertain about the nature of Steven's 'surprise'. However, when he saw the green gem standing in front of him and observing him with what seemed like critical eye, all of his concerns seemed to materialize in a heavy feeling in his stomach. "Dad, this is Peridot! Peridot, meet my dad!" Steven quickly took care of the introductions.

Peridot observed the 'dad' human and frowned her lips. He was taller than Steven, but not more than Garnet. He seemed as doubtful as her, and Peridot considered taking the first step. She decided it'd be safer to approach him politely, knowing he was an authority figure.

"Salutations, 'dad'." She didn't notice Steven frowning upon hearing the word. She took a step forward and offered him her hand, remembering the ritual Connie had shown her the night they met, seeking to make a good impression. "We finally meet."

"I..." Greg's attention didn't make it past the word dad. When Peridot offered him her hand, he looked at her doubting even more. The hand didn't move though, and he slowly grabbed it, unable to speak. Peridot shook it, still looking at him in a way that could only be described as judgemental. "It-It's a pleasure to meet you..." Greg managed to say.

"The pleasure is mine." She retreated her hand and took it to her chin thoughtfully. She walked a step forward, which didn't ease Greg's concerns. "Steven has told me a lot about your wisdom and knowledge." She said.

"He has..?" Greg looked at Steven with a mute plead in his eyes. The latter didn't seem to notice, however.

"Of course! I told her about how you figured a way to receive the message from Lapis Lazuli." He smiled as he spoke. Peridot, however, raised an eyebrow.

"The message was from the Lazuli..?" She was momentarily distracted from Greg. "How did she manage to..?" She thought, and a sudden suspicion assaulted her. She recovered, however, and directed her eyes to the tall human. "It's not important. How did you do it, 'dad'?" She narrowed her eyes, genuinely curious.

Greg, feeling her stare uncomfortably, searched almost desperately for something to say, and failed miserably. "Can you... Excuse me and Steven for a second?" He didn't wait for an answer, as he grabbed the kid by the arm and walked away quickly, putting a few feet between them and the green gem. Steven seemed surprised, but made no effort to resist him.

"Wha-?" Peridot watched him walk away, surprised at the turn of events. She looked at Connie, seeking for an explanation, only to grow even more confused at her expression. The human seemed uncomfortable. "What is going on..?" She mumbled, frowning.

~~~

"Stewball..? Are the gems really OK with this?" Greg heard his own voice crack slightly and made an effort to sound collected.

"What? Uh, I mean... Yeah, they are." Steven answered. Greg raised his eyes and looked over to the green gem, who was looking at her feet thoughtfully. Steven observed his dad carefully and noticed his forehead was bright with sweat, despite the afternoon getting colder as the sun set down. "Dad..?" Steven started to worry, and his voice showed it. "Is everything... Alright?"

Greg didn't like worrying him, and looked at him wishing to dissipate his doubts. He tried to smile, but it came out crooked. "I-I don't know... Is it?"

Steven nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I told you! She's a friend!" His words were confident, but they didn't seem to ease Greg's doubts.

"Is she? I know she's been working with you, but..." He looked directly into Steven's eyes, saying more through his own eyes than with his words. Steven felt a growing feeling of fear dwell in his chest.

"But things are different now! I... She has changed, I swear!" He couldn't help rising his voice, and Greg tried to settle him down.

"Steven! She's the same gem that tried to take you away!" He spoke with urge but lowly, making an effort not to sound too freaked out. It didn't work. "How are you so sure?" Steven, in the other hand, failed at trying to keep his voice down.

"I... I just know! S-She's changed... I..." Words failed him, and he felt oddly incompetent at trying to explain his thoughts. Something in his dad's eyes unsettled him. He knew that look. His dad was afraid. Steven closed his eyes and clenched his fists, frustrated.

Before speaking, she cleared her throat. "'Dad.'" The green gem's voice startled both Steven and Greg, and they quickly turned around to look at her. She'd approached them quietly, and was now standing a few feet away, with her arms crossed behind her back.

Peridot avoided looking at their eyes. "I... I couldn't help to overhear." Greg cringed slightly, and opened his mouth to speak, but Peridot didn't give him the chance. "Wait! I just... I need to say something." Behind her back, she rubbed her hands uncomfortably. Everyone looked at her expectantly, and she took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm sorry." Her words seemed surreal to Greg. "I won't try to excuse myself. I tried to 'take away' your Steven, and I did wrong." She dropped her view to the floor. "I... Understand now. How hard it'd be to lose someone you love." Behind her, Connie, covered her mouth.

"I can't expect you to forgive me... But I need you to know. I..." She struggled with her following words. "I have changed. I don't know how it happened, or how I feel about it... But I have. I know now." Her last words weren't but a whisper. "I'm sorry." Immediately after finishing speaking, she turned around and started walking, heading back to the house, feeling a strange pressure in her chest.

She honestly didn't expect him to speak, so when his words broke the silence, Peridot's feet stopped dead in their track. She turned around, but still avoided to look at him directly.

"I-I understand!" Those were his words. Greg looked at the green short gem, suddenly feeling tired and old. Even so, he made his best effort to smile. "Thanks... For apologizing. I appreciate that." Peridot blinked twice. She raised her head to look at him. "Tell you what! Maybe... You can come back, some other time, and I'll show you how I..." He paused for a moment, and put his hand over Steven's shoulders before continuing. "How we managed to get that message." His tone was doubtful, but under his arm, Steven smiled. Peridot opened her mouth to reply, but she only managed to nod before turning around and walking away quickly.

On her way to the house, she kept her eyes on the ground, until Steven caught up with her. When he did, she looked at him, waiting for any sort of comment, but all he did was smile. As stars appeared in the night sky, Peridot and Steven walked home quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was that! Sorry this chapter was a little slow guys, but my week was painfully busy. I intended to publish a longer chapter next week, but didn't want to let you down this week either, so... here's this. I'll make it up to you! College's over for the year and I won't travel until this next thursday, so I'll have some time to write. Next chapter will be cool, I promise.
> 
> That'll be it for today! This was Regularperifan. Have a nice weekend!


	7. Weak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when everybody believes in her, except for herself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! How do you do, Mr. Reader? Ready for another exciting chapter? I hope you enjoy it!

"Remember, it's not like summoning anything else out of your gem. A weapon is an extension of yourself, of your personality and a representation of your desire to fight. You have to conquer that desire, you have to find your very own way, and then, and only then, you'll be able to do it." Pearl's voice was soothing. "Find it inside you, Peridot."

Peridot, standing with her eyes closed, understood Pearl's words. For just a moment, she realized she felt the desire, and the revealing of her way seemed only a little out of her grasp. However, the feeling quickly went away, leaving her empty one more time. She sighed, questioning whether she'd felt it at all.

"I just... Don't know." She hummed angrily, frustrated.

"Now, now. I know it's not easy, but it's not supposed to be." Peridot opened her eyes to look at her master, standing in front of her, with a sword in her hand. "As I've told you before, this will take some time. For now, lets focus on something else." She turned the sword around gracefully, handing it to Peridot by its hilt. The latter grabbed it carefully. "Sword training is an art, Peridot. It can take years to master. However, as we still don't know what your weapon will turn out to be, we'll just use it to get you used to combat." As she spoke, Pearl took another sword out of her gem. "We'll train your reflexes, your capacity to react to the unexpected, and your innate strength and speed."

The weight of the sword felt a little uncomfortable on her hand, but Peridot didn't complain. Instead, she observed and tried to imitate the way Pearl was holding it.

"Later on, Connie can be your sparring partner." The human observing them from a few feet away smiled when Peridot looked at her. "But for now, you'll start with me. Before we get started, any questions?"

Peridot doubted, but she shook her head.

"Good. Now, everything begins with your stance..."

~~~

"Log date, 715. After days of unproductive attempts to summon my weapon, I've come to the conclusion it's pointless. A fool's errand..." She paused for a second, not completely happy with her words. As such, she rewind the tape, to start recording again. "Log date, 715. I've tried my best at it, but summoning a weapon just doesn't seem to be within my capacities..." She paused, frowned her lips, and rewind the tape one more time. "Log date, 715. I just don't understand why I should do this!" She couldn't help sounding exasperated. "It is hard, unnecessary, ridiculous..!" But that wasn't it either, and she growled as she rewind the tape yet another time.

"Peridot, it's two AM..." More than mad or annoyed, Steven sounded really tired. "Can you at least do that in the bathroom?"

The green gem didn't seem to hear him, as she continued to walk back and forth at the foot of Steven's bed.

"Log date, 715..."

Steven sighed, covering his head with his pillow. "At least Pearl doesn't talk when she watches me sleep..."

"...the Worst part of it is the sword fighting. If my weapon turns out to be a sword, I might have to quit this whole thing once and for all!" Her voice sounded exasperated again. "Pearl insists it'll be useful, but it's... Unnatural!" She stopped walking and Steven uncovered his head upon the silence. "All of this is unnatural..." Peridot murmured. Suddenly unable to continue speaking, she sat down on Steven's bed, the recorder still working. "I'm not supposed to..." She looked at her free hand, abstracted. "Do this... Any of this." Behind her, Steven sat up carefully, not wishing to startle her. He thought she was about to continue, but she rewind the tape, still not happy with the log.

"Peridot..?" Upon his words, the green gem turned her head around too look at him. She almost seemed surprised, for a second. Steven felt unsure about what to say. "Pearl... She says you're doing a good job..!" Peridot's face showed no reaction, but she nodded. She lay down on his bed, sighing.

"I'm sorry to keep you up Steven. I just... Needed to get it out." She spoke looking to the ceiling. Steven moved on his bed to lay down next to her. He turned his head to look at her.

"It's fine! I get it." He said. "You know..." He doubted a little, but continued. "You really should give yourself more credit..." He was surprised when he heard the gem snickering.

"Yeah? For what?" Peridot's tone suggested she was joking, but Steven saw a hint of sadness in her smile. "All I've managed to do since I came here to Earth is screw everything I touch." Steven frowned and remained quiet for a moment, before sitting up. He looked at her from that angle, until Peridot blushed, embarrassed. "What?" She made an effort to avoid his eyes.

"You're not being fair!" His voice was serious.

"What are you talking about?" She kept her eyes on the ceiling.

"You're not a failure!" His words stroke a sensitive chord inside her.

"Wha-What?" She laughed nervously. "I'm not... I didn't say I'm..."

"Well, good! Because you're not!" He interrupted her. Peridot gathered courage to look at him. His eyes were on fire. "You're awesome!" The word sent a chill through her body. "You said it yourself! You've changed!" Peridot opened her mouth, but no words came out of it. "You're trying to become better, and I'm sure you will!" She felt a lump in her throat. Hearing him talk like that always had an incomprehensible effect on her. Peridot covered her eyes with her hand.

The next time Steven spoke, his voice was lower. "You don't have to beat yourself up because you're not the best at stuff..." He put his hand over his gem. "Neither of us is. But we try our best, and that's what matters." He lay down on his bed again, and put his hand over hers. He could feel she was surprised by the gesture, as she almost tried to take it away, but soon she relaxed. "Do I have to remind you of all the crazy awesome stuff I've seen you do?" She uncovered her eyes and looked at him curiously. He smiled.

"Like... What?" She asked, doubtfully.

"Well just that other time, you crushed the high-score on that videogame!" He gestured with his free hand, smiling proudly. Peridot couldn't help smiling as well.

"You make it seem like it matters..." She said.

"It does for me! And possibly Sour Cream..." Peridot raised an eyebrow, but she made no questions. "Also, you beat Pearl's robot quite badly!"

"Hmm... I did." She conceded. That had been a victory for her.

"The drill probably wouldn't be almost completed if it weren't for you!" Steven continued with his list, counting with the fingers of his free hand as he spoke.

"What?! I almost single-handedly destroyed it! And Amethyst in the process..." She pouted, but Steven was decided not to let her mood drop.

"But you saved her!" Peridot's eyes widened. "And you fixed it too!" She blinked twice before saying:

"I... Actually did that..." She put a hand on her chin thoughtfully.

"You escaped from us a bunch of times..."

"Well, that was different." She immediately replied. "I had my limb enhancers back then."

"It's not like they did all the job!" She looked at him with her mouth half open, and smiled. He smiled back widely. "You want me to go on?"

"Please do." She joked. Suddenly, however, she sighed. "Steven..?" He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Thank you." A comfortable silence filled the room. Steven was the first one to break it.

"Is it really that bad?" The meaning of his words was clear to Peridot.

"No..." She admitted, begrudgingly. "I have learnt stuff..." It was true. Pearl had made sure her lessons were both useful and practical. "Sword fighting is not 'the worst'. It's just... Taking so long." She sighed. "I still can't feel it..." She closed her eyes. Steven understood she was referring to her weapon.

"Hey, it's OK!" Seeing her like that made Steven wish to find a way to comfort her. "Maybe... There's another way!" She looked at him, and Steven's mind raced with ideas. "Maybe... We could try to find your enhancers..?" He said, doubtfully. Peridot observed him for a second before speaking.

"How?" She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you it was impossible..."

"Not impossible! Just not very easy..." He remembered their past conversation. "But maybe Pearl and you can think of something!" He smiled, but he could feel it wasn't very convincing. She, however, didn't seem to notice.

Peridot sat up and hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose this planet's surface is small enough so that the task is not completely unthinkable..." She stopped for a moment, considering the idea. "Maybe the damage they've suffered throughout time is not unrepairable..." Steven heard a hint of excitement in her voice and smiled hopefully. However, her excitement decreased with her next statement. "There's still the matter of how, if not if, will we manage to track them among the vast extension of the Earth's sea." She sighed. "I don't know, Steven."

Steven felt a little down, but he smiled. "Don't worry that much! We'll ask Pearl tomorrow..." Peridot doubted, but she nodded. "Maybe... You want to sleep it down?" She looked at him, confused. "Oh! It means that you go to sleep, to come up with better ideas the next morning." She raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you, but I think better while I'm... Conscious." She stood up from the bed. "Good night, Steven." Her words were formal, like following a procedure.

Steven noticed, and smiled only a little awkwardly before responding: "Good night! Love you!" Right after that, he tucked into bed. Peridot blushed, but made no comment. However, she was smiling while she walked down the stairs, heading to the bathroom.

~~~

The sun was at its highest point in the sky, which meant a half of the Earth's rotation cycle had just been completed. "Twelve hours." She thought, distracted. That meant three hours before training.

Her hands moved quickly to connect a few cables on a panel, after making sure she wasn't making a mistake like before. Ever since that time, she always checked twice.

Working atop the drill, Peridot stopped her task for a moment, and observed the two figures sitting under a tree nearby. Steven and Amethyst didn't notice her looking at them. They looked peaceful, taking apart pieces of machinery. Steven had gotten better at deciding what to keep, intuitive, even, and was now in charge of the task. Peridot didn't notice she'd been staring until Pearl talked.

"Peridot..?" Her voice startled her slightly. "Everything alright?"

Peridot cleared her throat. "Yes! I..." She looked down at Pearl. The gem standing near the drill was holding a wrench that was probably the size of one of Peridot's arms. "I'm fine. Sorry I got distracted."

"You don't have to apologize! This is not a lesson, you know?" Pearl smiled. "Were you... Thinking about something, in particular?"

Peridot was a little surprised by her question. Ever since the start of her training, the gem had gotten more communicative. Pearl was a strict and demanding sword master, but her lessons were taught with kindness and patience. She was probably the only reason she hadn't quit trying, she realized. That, and Connie's words of encouragement after and before each session.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Pearl tipped her head, waiting for her to continue. "How did you manage to find me?"

"Hmm?" Pearl frowned in confusion.

"Steven said you found a secret way to track me. What was it?" She clarified.

"Oh! You mean before." She lay the wrench against her shoulder and raised a finger before explaining. "You may not be aware of it, but we found your pod not long before you crashed on that cornfield." Peridot didn't interrupt, but she paid close attention. "I managed to locate you by using the link it has with you! Each time you used a warp pad, it activated and let us know your location." She smiled proudly, but Peridot wasn't looking at her. She was lost in thought again, but just for a second this time. Suddenly, her face lit up.

"That's it! You're a genius!" She left her workplace with a wide smile and slid down the drill's surface to land safely on her feet, an action she'd grown used to. Pearl raised an eyebrow, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Peridot looked at her with joy in her eyes, before answering with an excited voice.

"My pod wasn't linked to me! It was linked to my enhancers!" The other gem shook her head, feeling lost. "It tracks them! Not me!" Pearl frowned, beginning to comprehend. "It can track them! We can find my enhancers! We actually can find them!" She exploded in cheerful laughter, which attracted Garnet's attention from inside the barn, and Amethyst and Steven's too.

Peridot had to make an effort to stay calm. "We will have to make modifications... It probably won't be easy, but I think we can do it!" She said, speaking to both Pearl and herself in what could only be described as an excited hurry.

"Peridot..?" There was doubt in Pearl's voice, and that caught her attention. When she looked at her, the gem seemed a little uncomfortable. "Is... This what you really want?" Peridot opened her mouth, confused.

"Huh? Of course! What do you... Mean?" She was still really excited, but couldn't help sounded a little doubtful. The rest of the Crystal Gems had congregated around them, and were now looking at their interaction.

"Well... It's just..." Pearl didn't look at her directly. "You don't need them, you know?" Peridot shook her head, confused.

"Of course I do!" She was still lost. "What are you... Talking about?"

"It's just you've made so much progress in your training..." Peridot's eyes widened. "Do you really want to go back to... Depend on them?" Garnet understood right away what 'them' meant, and both Steven and Amethyst started to get it too.

"What?" She looked around her. Everyone was expecting an answer. "I... Why would I..?" She stopped, thinking of the implication in Pearl's words. Did she need them? Sure, they would be useful, but, would she continue to train without them? Would she stop trying to be a 'strong, capable gem'? Her excitement crumbled, as doubt filled her. Was it a good idea?

"I think we should do it." Garnet's voice cut the silence. Everybody's attention centered on her.

"But, Garnet! She doesn't need them anymore!" Pearl spoke.

"No. She doesn't." She put a hand over Pearl's shoulder. "But they're important to her." She looked at Peridot, and the latter looked back, still a little confused. "We'll get them back. Then, you will decide if you want to keep them or not." Pearl bit her lower lip, but kept her concerns for herself. "Is that OK?" It took Peridot a second to realize she was asking her. She nodded, which caused Garnet to smile reassuringly. "Well, then. It seems we've found ourselves our next mission." Steven's face lit up with a smile.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" He said, before laughing joyfully. "I knew you'd come up with something!" He put an arm over Peridot's shoulders. The latter smiled, but her attention was no longer with him. Pearl's words had brought concern to her mind, and she felt nervous about the future.

~~~

She cleared her throat. "We are reunited here to discuss the best way to proceed in our... Mission." She spoke while walking back and forth in the living room. "Which is, of course, retrieving my limb enhancers from this planet's ocean. This won't be easy, so I thank you for agreeing to help." All the time, she kept her chin up and a serious demeanor. Standing in line next to the rest of the Crystal Gems, Steven raised his arm.

"Yes, Steven?" Peridot said.

"You're welcome!" He smiled widely.

"Uh... Very well." His kind remark threw her off a little, but she managed to maintain her cool. "Well, as Pearl explained to me, after you found my escape pod, she managed to access some of the functions of said pod. One of them, is its capacity to locate and follow its owner, which almost always is the peridot in command of the ship, in this case, me, throughout any standard warp system, by linking itself to the energy spectrum of its owner's enhancers."

"Oh, so that's what it was for!" Pearl took her hand to her chin. Peridot continued, ignoring the interruption.

"This capacity, however, is limited by the fact that is only usable when said owner activates a warp pad." She put a hand over the half disassembled pod that was sitting in the middle of the living room. "When that happens, it receives the location of the activated warp pad and traces its coordinates on a previously introduced map of the planet, in order to follow its owner."

"So..." Steven looked at what was left of the pod with changed eyes. "It wanted to follow you all along?"

"I... Suppose you could say that." The sad tone in Steven's voice made her raise an eyebrow. She continued to walk, speaking. "This would normally be a major hindrance, as it would be impossible to track my enhancers' positions while I'm not wearing them and using a warp system. However!" She turned and looked at them. Everybody's attention was fixed on her. "This planet's large area covered by water has proven to be useful, as it has some... Particular properties."

She turned her back on them and quickly activated her pod. A hologram of the Earth materialized, granting her a couple of surprised mumbles. "As you can see, water's capacity to conduct energy has made it possible to scan its entirety in just a couple of hours. The results are positive. I found them." Her voice was barely able to withhold her enthusiasm.

"Are those... What I think they are..?" Pearl's voice was respectful, as she pointed to the numerous marks that populated the hologram.

"Yes. I had to make some serious modifications to this thing," She patted the pod, smiling. "So that it can locate them solely by the shared link, instead of waiting for a pad's activation. It still would've been impossible, if it weren't for water's conductive properties." She talked almost cheerfully, obviously proud. "I'll be honest with you, I almost thought it wouldn't make it... It has suffered a lot of damage."

"That's so cool..." Said Steven. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "How you... Didn't give up on it, even though it was broken."

"I... Suppose." She turned around again and moved her finger's skillfully inside the pod, to rotate the hologram above her head. "However, not everything good news." She pointed at the marks on the holographic planet. "As you probably have noticed, these marks are not very close to each other, not even on scale."

"The water currents must've separated them..." Garnet spoke.

"Yes. That is the natural conclusion." Peridot nodded. "Also, if you count the marks, you'll notice there are only twelve of them, when there should be exactly fourteen; ten for the components of the display and four for each one of my leg and arm attachments." She frowned, unsettled. "That can only mean two of the components are no longer in the sea, be it because they have been destroyed or because they simply are now on the shore. The implication is, of course, that we don't have time to lose. Each second it becomes harder, if not impossible, to recover all the components."

"But even if we know their location, finding them inside the sea could take years!" Pearl was looking at the hologram apprehensively. "I'm not even sure we can, seeing they're so little..."

"I know." Peridot moved her fingers on the controllers one more time, and the hologram grew bigger to show one carefully picked spot. On it, seven marks shined brightly. "Time is of the essence, so I've made up my mind: Trying to find all of the components would be rather risky, so I've decided I only need these seven. The three bigger marks represent three of my arm and leg attachments, which are the most important part, while the rest are bound to be parts of the display. These are closer to each other than any of the others, so this is as easy, or viable, as it gets."

"What about the others?" Asked Amethyst.

"They are... Expendable." Her voice sounded calculated. "Looking for them is unnecessary and unadvisable." She looked at the hologram with a resigned expression. "I'd like to find them, but these seven are all I need. Once I have them, I can try to reverse engineer them, and so, find a way to make proper replacements using implements from the barn. Maybe they won't look as good, or work as efficiently, but I've decided not to complain. This is already better than I expected."

"Even those seven will be hard to find." Garnet crossed her arms. "How will we track them?"

"Unfortunately, my pod is too damaged." Peridot answered. "What the landing didn't ruin has not gotten better since then, and all the modifications I had to do most certainly didn't help. We can't move it, at least for now. However, I believe I can still use some of its components to create a device, a tool that will allow us to track them in real time. All we'll have to do is find the closest warp pad to this spot, and use the device to guide us from there."

"Like... A radar?" Pearl tipped her head. Peridot frowned in response.

"A what?"

"Nevermind..." She mumbled. Peridot didn't ask any questions.

"So!" She stepped right in front of the pod, facing the Crystal gems. "Any questions?"

"What are we waiting for?" Amethyst grinned.

"I still need a little time to assemble the... 'radar'." Pearl blinked twice upon hearing her use the word."We can depart in no more than a hour." The four Crystal Gems observed her, standing in front of them with a serious expression.

Before speaking, Garnet smiled half way. "You've done a good job planning this mission. You'll eventually become an excellent leader."

"A wha..?" Peridot blushed violently upon her words. "I just..."

"Using water's conductive capabilities on your favor was genius." Pearl nodded repeatedly. "And you did a good job setting up your priorities." Peridot eyes shifted from one her to Garnet, but something caught her attention.

In front of her Steven moved his mouth, pretending to say something without making any noise. "You are awesome!" Peridot was able to read.

"I..!" Peridot had to make an effort to regain her composure and crossed her arms before speaking. "Thank you. You..." Her voice became lower, and she avoided looking at them. "You don't have to do this. I expect you to know that..."

"Of course we do!" Steven's voice was reassuring, and she lift her head to see him smile as he spoke. "You are our friend. Helping each other is just part of it." Pearl and Amethyst nodded, while Garnet smiled. Peridot looked at them and smiled as well. She wanted to say something, but found no words.

~~~

The reality of the situation made her nervous. Soon, she would submerge in the unknown, protected by nothing but a thin bubble. She would have questioned her own sanity, but she knew what was on stake was important enough. Next to her, Steven didn't look half as uncomfortable with the idea.

"Hey!" She claimed his attention. "How come you're so relaxed?" Steven seemed doubtful for a moment, but he smiled.

"I've done this before, remember? Besides, we have our vests!" He patted the ridiculous piece of clothing she was wearing around her chest. He was wearing one too. "If anything goes wrong, we just have to open them and we'll float back to safety!"

"It'll be fine! You don't need to breath, remember?" Amethyst laughed slightly. She and Garnet were paddling the boat, taking it to the exact location they were looking for, where they'd be closer to one of the components and where they'd start the search. Meanwhile, Pearl handled the radar, making sure their course was the correct one.

"It's no the lack of air that worries me..." She murmured. Trying to get her concerns off her mind, she said: "You never told me the end of that story." The sun was still high in the sky, but by its position, she determined they didn't have more than a couple of hours of light left. "What happened after you distracted the worm?"

"Hey, yeah! I guess I forgot." He rubbed the back of his head smiling awkwardly. "So, where was I..? I ran as hard as I could..."

~~~

"We're here." Pearl announced. Peridot looked around, but nothing but blue sea could be seen. She breathed deeply, attempting to calm herself.

"Very well." She decided to go over the plan one last time. "Steven and I will go together, inside of one of his bubbles, since he needs air to breath and since the radar doesn't go very well with water." Pearl handed her the device. "Right now, we're exactly over a big mark, which means we'll look for one of my leg or arm attachments. If any of you finds it, that gem should come to us, so that Steven can give the signal." Steven quickly took a wide flashlight, bought specially for the occasion, out of his backpack. He nodded as the he turned the flashlight on and off repeatedly. "After that, Garnet will come to us and help us out of the ocean, while everybody else gets on the boat. If we succeed, we'll repeat the process." All her words made sense to her, but they didn't ease her doubts. Pearl noticed, and smiled reassuringly.

"There's nothing to worry about, Peridot. If something happens you can use the secondary signal and we'll come looking for you two right away."

"Right!" Steven searched his backpack and covered the flashlight with a thin layer of a red substance, 'plastic'. He turned it on to demonstrate. The light that came out of it was red this time, symbolizing danger.

"That won't be necessary." Garnet stood up. "Nothing will go wrong."

Peridot breathed deeply and nodded. "OK. Lets do this then."

"Now you are talking!" Amethyst hit her on the arm softly, before jumping in the sea head first.

"Try not to get stuck on the rocks at the bottom, but if you do, use the signal." Pearl was about to jump inside, when she turned around to look at Steven. "Did you remember to bring extra batteries?" He nodded repeatedly, and her expression softened. She jumped in gracefully.

"Good luck." Garnet practically walked into the water, leaving them alone on the boat.

"OK! Stand next to me." She did, an Steven had no problem summoning the bubble around them. Peridot knocked on its inner surface, verifying its resistance. "Ready?" He smiled.

"Positive." They pushed the bubble into the ocean, making the knot in Peridot's insides tighter. When the bubble broke the surface of the water, she closed her eyes, waiting for anything to go wrong. Nothing happened, however, and she opened her eyes to look at a completely different spectacle.

"Woah..." She couldn't withhold the exclamation. Around them, light reverberated in different tones of blue, while little creatures swam above and underneath the bubble. "Fish..." She murmured. A word Steven had explained. "There are so many..! That one is big!" She pointed at it, with her mouth opened in awe.

"That's a shark! Awesome!" Steven said. The bubble was sinking quickly, however, and soon the blue tones were replaced by darker ones. They were close to the bottom, she realized, and light could only go so far. Steven turned the flashlight on, bringing a little clarity to their surroundings. He pointed it at the bottom, right before they landed on it.

"What is all that?" She narrowed her eyes, trying to see.

"Oh, those are corals." Steven directed the flashlight to them. "They're pretty, huh?"

"I... Suppose." Peridot didn't find them much appealing, however, and she directed her eyes to the device on her hand. "We better start looking if we want to finish today. Lets go that way." She pointed at the direction her screen indicated and started to push the bubble. Steven helped her.

"You know... Pearl was right." Steven spoke. He could only push with one hand, as the other one was busy with the flash light, lighting up the way. "We can find them, but you don't need them anymore."

Peridot hummed before talking. "You were the one to bring the subject out in the first place!" She said, inadvertently sounding defensive.

"Yeah, but..." They maneuvered around a big rock. "Maybe I was wrong... Maybe they're not a better option than your training... They were really cool, but it was you all along. You made them awesome."

"Well, we'll see when we get them, alright?" Steven nodded. "We're really close." She stopped pushing. Steven used his flashlight to check the surroundings.

"See anything..?" Out of nowhere, an object impacted the bubble. Both Steven and Peridot screamed in surprise, but relaxed as the object revealed itself to be Amethyst, laughing outside the bubble.

"That little clod..." Peridot's eyes narrowed. Amethyst wasn't carrying anything, so she tipped her head, confused. Amethyst moved her arms to catch their attention, and pointed repeatedly to her left. "She wants us... To follow her, maybe?"

"Huh! Should I give the signal?" Steven asked.

"Negative. Lets see what she wants." Amethyst was still pointing, while seemingly talking excitedly. Steven calmed her by giving her a signal, that Peridot didn't recognize, with his hand. As they she started swimming, Peridot and Steven pushed the bubble in her direction, following her, and Peridot asked:

"That sign... What does it mean?" Amethyst was moving quickly, and Peridot pushed stronger trying to catch up.

"It's called a 'thumbs up'. It means everything is alright." He quickly explained. "Maybe you can have them and still train not to depend solely on them..."

Peridot hummed, only a little annoyed. "Maybe. Personally, I'd like to find them before making any plans. Wait... Where did she go?" Peridot's eyes searched for any signal of the purple gem. Steven used the flashlight, but it didn't help much. Suddenly, however, Amethyst's upper body peeked out of a grotto in the floor. She made more signs with her hands, inviting them. "What in the world is she up to..?"

"Peridot..? Maybe we should give the signal before going inside there..." They kept pushing until they were at the edge of the cavity. It was way bigger and wider than it looked, and also very dark.

"I... This is still not an emergency. Lets see what Amethyst wants from us before, OK?"

Steven didn't seem too onboard with the idea, but he made no comment about it. The deep and dark grotto didn't look safe, but Amethyst was still inside it, pretending to yawn. "Here goes..." Peridot pushed the bubble over the edge, expecting the descent to be way longer than it was. Once inside it, darkness engulfed them. Steven pointed the flashlight in all directions, trying to decide where to go. Suddenly, however, the bubble started moving on its own, or at least it seemed like it. Behind them, Amethyst pushed them deeper, until the entrance wasn't but a slightly bright spot.

"Where are we going...? We're wasting time." Said Peridot, slightly annoyed. "This better be worth it."

They couldn't see anything but darkness, but Amethyst pushed them without doubting. Peridot felt a change in the terrain as the bubble started moving in an inclined angle. "We're going up?" Said Steven, also aware of the change. Peridot didn't answer, instead, she pointed at a spot in front of them, where a slight source of light could be seen.

"Is that..?" As they grew closer to the light, there was no more room for doubts. They were headed towards a cave. The entrance was wide enough to allow the bubble to pass, and was surrounded by a strange looking light. Much to their surprise, when they entered the cave, a strange sound was heard. It took them a second to understand they were out of the water, as they were distracted by the spectacle the cave offered.

"It's huge!" Steven said, impressed.

The entirety of the cave was illuminated by a soft blue light, that seemed to come from the walls. It gave the whole situation a very appropriate sense of unreality. Steven realized it was probably as big as the insides of the temple, and opened his mouth in awe. Outside the bubble, Amethyst grinned and gestured with her arms, inviting them to come out.

"There's air out there... You can open the bubble..." Peridot poked Steven in the arm to catch his attention. The bubble popped, and the multiple sounds of the cave got to them; mysterious and repetitive. Amethyst put her hands on her waist and smiled proudly.

"What do you guys think? Pretty cool, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah..." Steven was looking up, and talked almost respectfully. "How did you find it?"

"I was just swimming around!" The simple explanation made Steven frown. Amethyst looked at Peridot, who had walked up to one of the walls and was examining it. "What do you think, Peri? This could be our secret oceanic hideout!" Her voice was cheerful.

"I guess..." Peridot seemed more interested in the walls. "What is all this..?" She carefully ran a finger over the bright surface. When she examined it, it was emitting the same kind of light. "Wha..!? It's on me!" She showed Steven and Amethyst her hand, looking disgusted.

"It's... Some kind of moss..?" Steven had approached her and was now examining her finger, covered by the bright substance. "Bright moss!" He smiled, but Peridot raised an eyebrow at his excitement. "Amethyst, this place is awesome!"

"Yeah, alright. I knew you'd like it." She smiled nonchalantly.

"As... 'cool' as it is..." Peridot didn't like to interrupt their happiness, but she knew it was necessary. "We better get going. For all we know, Garnet or Pearl already found my enhancer and are now looking for us. We don't want to worry them." Her voice was as serious as her expression.

"Aww, come on! We just found it!" Amethyst protested. "Don't you want to explore it?"

"I..." Peridot thought about the immensity of the cave and shivered. "Even if I wanted to, this is certainly not the right moment." Amethyst opened her mouth to reply, but Peridot raised a hand to stop her. "What about this?" She pointed to the radar in her hand. "I designed this thing with a couple of interesting functions. One of them, I'm capable of marking the spot we're standing on right now, on its map. We can come back later, maybe with Pearl and Garnet, to... Explore." She didn't sound too excited with the possibility.

"Guys..?" Steven's voice was low. He was looking with attention at the deeper part of the cave. Neither Amethyst nor Peridot seemed to hear him speak.

"Fine! But I found it, I get to name it." Amethyst crossed her arms as she spoke.

"And what's that supposed to mean..?" Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"Guys!" Steven's eyes were wide open, fixed on a point in the darkness.

"Duh! You have to name a hideout, nerd."

Peridot was about to reply, when Steven grabbed her by the arm. She looked at him, surprised, and frowned when she realized he looked... Scared. "There's something else inside here..." His voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough to give Peridot chills. She and Amethyst looked in the same direction as the kid, and realized what he meant.

A black shape had appeared in the deeper part of the cave, contrasting with the blue of the walls. Peridot felt her knees shake, as she realized the shape was tall, probably taller than Steven's house. It was moving, slowly, and growing bigger each second. It was coming towards them, making a low, but persistent and increasing, sound.

"Quick! Lets..." She whispered, intending to say "Get out of here!", but was stopped by the violent impact of an unknown object no more than a couple feet away from them. "Eep!" The sound escaped her mouth, as the light coming from the walls revealed the object to be a wide, dark colored tentacle. Next to her, Steven and Amethyst gasped. The sudden impact had stopped them from moving, and they observed in horror how the tentacle started to crawl in their direction. "Steven! Bubble!" Peridot's voice cracked slightly, but her order was firm.

He was still shocked, but his reflexes were faster than his mind and the pink bubble materialized around them just in time, as the tentacle impacted the bubble strongly, pushing it towards a wall and bouncing it to an unknown direction. Inside it, the trio couldn't help bouncing on each other and the bubble's walls, until it stopped moving on the floor. Steven turned on the flashlight and pointed it around them, just in time to light another tentacle landing atop their protective barrier. He immediately dropped the flashlight, making an effort to maintain the bubble.

"What is that thing?!" Peridot's voice was impregnated by fear.

"Who cares?! We gotta get out of here!" Amethyst tried to push the bubble, but under the pressure of the tentacle's weight, it didn't move. Peridot observed terrified as two slender and longer tentacles started to wrap around the bubble, coming from the dark creature they hadn't seen yet.

"Garnet..! Pearl..!" Steven was shaking, and was barely able to pronounce the two words. The bubble had curved under the pressure.

"They don't know we're here..." Peridot's voice was low and barely audible. More tentacles had appeared, and were quickly wrapping around them.

"Fine! Drop the bubble!" Amethyst took her whip out of her gem with a fierce expression.

"I can't... It would crush us..." Steven spoke with a pained expression.

"Summon your shield at the same time!" Amethyst couldn't help sounding a little desperate. "There's no other way!"

"I..." Steven doubted a little, before nodding. Peridot stopped breathing, her body completely tense. "One... Two... Three!"

Peridot wasn't prepared for the sound that came with the bursting of the bubble. The creature was hissing madly, and its tentacles made a disgusting sound as they pressed against each other trying to get to the now non-existing bubble. Steven managed to perform the move perfectly, and the bubble popped as his shield appeared above them, protecting them from the biggest tentacle.

"Run for the exit!" With the scream still in her throat, Amethyst cracked her whip repeatedly, cutting, with each movement, some of the tentacles.

"I don't know where that is!" It was true, Peridot was completely lost. The blue light gave everything an odd depth perception that contributed to her confusion.

"Just run then!" Steven, with his biggest effort, expanded the shield until it pushed the tentacle away, high enough to give them time to maneuver. Understanding his idea, Peridot quickly picked up the radar and the flashlight. "Now!" They started running at the same time, away from the creature, as the shield disappeared, and the tentacle impacted the floor where they'd been standing, making it tremble. Peridot turned the flashlight on and used it to light their way. Everything around them looked the same, however, and they realized they were running in a random direction. The sound of the creature was still to their back, pressing them to run faster.

"Any ideas?!" Amethyst looked back nervously, where the shape of the creature could still be seen.

"I..!" Peridot's eyes were wide open, looking for the entrance in one of the walls. "We have to find the-"

"Look out!" Steven's scream interrupted her, and she turned around just in time to see the hideous tentacle drag itself across the floor in a sweeping motion. Peridot had been running ahead of them, and when Steven summoned his shield, she was left outside of its protection. Her eyes widened in terror, as she saw Steven uselessly try to expand his shield to include her, right before the tentacle slammed her complete body, throwing her against one of the walls. She was surprised by how, in the little reaction time she had before the tentacle impacted her, she was able to drop the devices in her hands and use them to protect her forehead. The pain was overwhelming, but she managed to maintain enough control of herself to keep her hands over her gem as she impacted the wall.

The loud noise she made when crashing against it made her fear she would retreat to her gem immediately, but she didn't, as she verified when she fell unceremoniously to the floor. Everything she could feel was pain, and it erased everything else from her mind for a second. The thing that snapped her out of it was hearing Steven yell her name repeatedly, in the distance. She stood up, dazzled and confused, but trying to gain control over her body. The sounds echoed in the cave and she was unable to determine where the sound was coming from, but she started walking, feeling pain course through her body with each step. She stumbled and fell on her knee, and looking down, she realized she had tripped over an oddly shaped object. "The flashlight." She thought, feeling her mind move slowly to draw conclusions. "It was propelled in the same direction than me."

With shaky hands, she turned it on and pointed it around her. The light blinked a couple of time and lost some of its brightness, but it was still enough to show her a discouraging image. In front of her, a massive pile of rocks blocked her way. Behind her, darkness. Above her, the ceiling wasn't as tall as she remembered. It took her a second to understand her situation. She was not in the same chamber as Steven and Amethyst anymore. The impact had thrown her into a different, much smaller one, and caused rocks to cover the entrance. Steven wasn't yelling her name anymore, but the sounds of the creature could still be heard, coming through the rocks.

"Steven..." She felt a tight knot in her stomach as she realized that they were still in danger. Much worse, she could do nothing to help. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, and she put the flashlight on the floor, pointing in direction to the rocks. They were all big, and the space between them was not enough to allow her to squeeze through it.

"Screw this!" Out of the mixed feelings in her chest, frustration got the best of her. She grabbed one of the rocks and started pulling it with all her strength. As she struggled during what felt like hours, a little part of her reminded her that the whole wall of rocks could come down and crush her, but she paid no attention to it. Steven and Amethyst were in danger, and she had to help. She pulled stronger, blushing by the effort. It was no use. The rock didn't budge. Behind her, the flashlight slowly grew darker, and finally died, leaving her in complete darkness.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO!" Unable to see, she left her hands guide her. "I have... To help them!" With those words, she made her biggest effort yet. However, her hands slipped on the surface of the rock, and she fell on her back with a loud 'plump'. She stayed there, feeling tears coming to her eyes. "But... How?"

She was unable to help. Trapped, useless... Without a weapon, the necessary strength, or her enhancers. She covered her face and a sob crossed her throat as she realized Pearl had been right. "I depended on them..." Without enhancers, she'd always been weak. Harmless. And instead of trying to get over them, she had embarked her friends on a quest to find them. A quest that was about to end in tragedy. "Why can't I do anything right?!" She clenched her fists angrily. Now they'd get shattered because of her. The thought was almost physically painful.

Something caught her attention, however. She sat up, cleaning tears from her face with a hand covered by dirt, and paid close attention. "Silence..." The sound of the creature was gone. It had probably moved away, far enough so that she couldn't hear it, she thought. However, a different sound was heard. His voice. He was screaming her name. She practically jumped to stand up, and climbed the rocks to find a spot where she could hear clearer. That was, without a doubt, Steven.

"I'm here! Steven! Over here!" She screamed with urge, feeling relief take over her wounded body. He was still alive. He was looking for her. "Steven!" She screamed as hard as she could, not knowing if he could hear her.

"Peridot?" This time his scream was doubtful, but it sounded closer. A second later, she heard Amethyst's voice.

"She's over here!" And just a moment after that, Garnet's voice, coming directly from behind the wall. "Peridot, take cover! I'm going to break through!" Upon her words, Peridot jumped off the rock she was standing on, walked as far as she could away from the rocks, and covered her gem.

"One... Two... Three!" Thousands of pieces flew through the air as Garnet's fist let the blue light inside the chamber. With a couple of more punches, the remaining rocks ceded, an the hole was big enough for her to pass. Peridot didn't wait for more, as she ran through it as fast as she could. Outside, the four Crystal Gems looked at her, worried. She, however, only had eyes for Steven and Amethyst. The half gem half human smiled, and Peridot felt tears forming in her eyes as she ran to hug them both tightly. Amethyst blushed, but she put a hand on her back. Steven, however, couldn't help moving away slightly.

"Ow!" He said, and Peridot separated from them to take a closer look at him. Coming from her forehead, a stream of dark liquid shined with a purple tone under the blue light.

"You... You're hurt..." She cringed, about to cry again, but Steven made his best effort to smile reassuringly.

"I'm OK, I promise!" To demonstrate, he was the one to hug her this time. "I'm just glad you're alright." His voice shook a little, almost unable to withhold all his emotions.

"Yeah, you gave us quite a scare back there." Amethyst smiled too. Peridot blinked twice.

"But... How?" She turned her head around to look at Pearl and Garnet. She realized, almost subconsciously, that Pearl was holding one of her arm attachments. It seemed so unimportant at that moment. "How did you find us?"

"I have my methods." Garnet spoke. "We'll talk about all of this later. For now, lets get ourselves home."

Peridot nodded. One more time, she separated from Steven to look at him and Amethyst. Both of their faces were dirty and their hair was a mess of dirt and bright moss, but they were smiling. She smiled too, with tears of sheer joy on her cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7, huh? The longest so far. Probably had to do with the fact that I've had a ton of free time lately. However, I'll travel out of town tomorrow to spend some time with the family, so here's where that baby-sized hiatus really kicks in. Sorry guys, but I'm afraid no chapter for the next week. We'll see, though! Things can change rather quickly.
> 
> Also, if you felt this chapter left a lot of unresolved issues (mainly Peridot's self depreciating thoughts) don't worry! Everything will be solved soon enough. Wait patiently for chapter 8, "Strong".
> 
> Thank you so much for all the comments/kudos/bookmarks! Seriously, you guys pump me up when writers block tries to bully me around. Thanks for reading, have a nice day!


	8. Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot has a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A new chapter? Well, that's a novelty. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

They looked for the radar for a while, but only were able to found pieces of it, scrambled around. Apparently, it didn't take the hit as well as the flashlight, or Peridot herself. They gathered all they could find, and Pearl asked whether Peridot could fix it or not. The green gem answered with a low voice:

"I don't know if I want to." And that was it. Steven felt concerned when he verified Peridot's relief hadn't lasted long. The gem kept her thoughts for herself, but he could almost feel the anxiety coming from her. He wanted to speak to her as Garnet lifted their bubble to the surface, but the gem avoided looking him in the eye.

The paddling to the warp pad was quiet. Amethyst asked Peridot if she didn't want to know what'd happened after she was separated from them, but the latter didn't answer. Amethyst and Steven interchanged worried looks. Pearl opened her mouth to speak, but Garnet refrained her. "Back home." She said.

When they warped back to the house, as soon as the living room materialized around them, Peridot stepped off the pad. She walked up to her dismantled pod and dropped the pieces of the radar inside it. She stood there, looking at them, distracted. Meanwhile, none of the Crystal Gems had moved. Garnet was the one to speak first.

"Peridot." She tried to get her attention. If Peridot heard her, she showed no sign of it. "That creature... It was a corrupted gem we'd been looking for a while." Upon hearing her words, Steven and Amethyst looked at her interrogatively. "Not you two. Just Pearl and me." Amethyst narrowed her eyes.

"Why weren't we invited, again?" She said, Peridot momentarily forgotten. Pearl was the one to answer.

"Don't think much of it, Amethyst. You already knew about it, remember?" She spoke, nonchalantly.

After a moment of thought, Amethyst's eyes widened in understanding. "That was it?" Surprise tinted her voice. "But it was huge! You needed us for that!" 

"We didn't know it was that strong." Garnet took the word again. "We only knew that it was hiding in the sea. Looking for it took time and effort, and we needed you two to help Peridot." She put a hand over Steven's head, who'd been looking at her with curiosity. Her next sentence was directed to Peridot. "It was a stroke of luck that you found it. A coincidence."

"It probably had to do with the water currents!" Pearl explained. "I believe your enhancers ended all near that place because of them too!" She pretended to smile, but Peridot wasn't looking at her anyway, so she dropped the effort. After a moment of a tangibly uncomfortable silence, Peridot spoke. When she did, her voice was cool and calculated. It made Steven wish to hug her.

"I put you in danger." She said, still directing her eyes to her pod, specifically, to the remains of the broken radar.

"No! It wasn't your fault!" Steven quickly intervened. "You heard Garnet, it was a coincidence!"

"Yeah! Also..." Amethyst spoke, sounding a little desperate. "It was me that found it and... And I wanted to explore it, remember? You wanted us to leave!"

Peridot waited for them to stop talking, showing no sign of reaction upon their words. "I put you in danger." The others opened their mouth to reply one more time, but she didn't give them the chance. "I did. And I couldn't even help you." Her voice sounded remorseful in the most painful way. "It was me. We were there only because of me. It's because I'm weak."

"No, no!" Pearl moved her hands negatively. "Peridot, you are not..."

"Yes I am!" Her shout startled everyone. Pearl observed her with her mouth half open. "The only times I managed to protect myself, I was using my enhancers. It was always them! Without them..." She looked at her hands, and clenched them angrily. "I can't do anything..."

"That's not true." Garnet's voice was firm. "But even if it were, it wouldn't be important. You're training so you can be strong. So you don't depend on them, or anybody, anymore."

"And what has that gotten me, huh?" Peridot looked at them for the first time. Frustration and sadness were obvious in her eyes, and Steven felt a lump in his throat just by looking at her. "I'm still the same!" She closed her eyes, speaking with anger. "No weapon, no strength! Useless..." Her last word was just a whisper.

Hearing the deep sadness in her voice snapped something inside Pearl. She knew that feeling. That had been her, not so long before. Back then, she'd had someone to aid her. Now, it was her turn to try to do the same for her. Her student. She clenched her fists, wishing silently to say the right words.

"Peridot, this things take time!" She made sure her voice was firm and clear. "You knew it wouldn't be easy... Or quick! It's all a matter of time..." She took a step forward. "I've seen the progress you've done! Maybe you don't realize but you are already stronger!" She spoke vehemently, and her tone made the green gem doubt for the first time in the conversation.

"I..." She opened her eyes as she spoke. "You think..?" She paused for a moment, blinked twice and shook her head. "You say that but..." She bit her lower lip, not knowing how to go on. Pearl took another step forward.

"Peridot. Do you trust us?" Her words sounded ominous, and were followed by a deep silence. Peridot looked at each of their faces. The Crystal Gems. Her friends. She nodded.

"O-Of course I do... I..."

Pearl grew closer to her. Peridot didn't move, but she avoided looking at her. "Good. Because we wouldn't lie to you." Pearl's words were sincere, and Peridot knew it. She was standing right in front of her. "You are already stronger. I told you, you don't need them. Maybe you did before, but you don't now." She kneeled down to look directly at her, and put a hand on Peridot's shoulder. The green gem looked at her with watery eyes. "You are not the same you were before. And you'll eventually become even stronger." She spoke lowly, almost whispering. "I know it will be hard, but it's worth the effort. I know... I know you can do it. So, please, don't give up trying." Her soft and caring voice made a warm feeling grow in Peridot's chest. Pearl'd said the word please, she realized.

"I..." Peridot unconsciously put a hand on Pearl's arm, looking down. "I don't want to give up..." She raised her eyes, and saw a little smile forming on Pearl's face. "I won't give up." Her voice was firm enough to surprise herself. However, as a flash, the memory of feeling trapped and useless inside the cave came to her mind and made her cringe, as she felt confidence leave her body. Pearl noticed and blinked twice, about to say something. Peridot turned around quickly, not giving her the chance. Pearl gasped slightly, surprised.

"I need..." She knew Pearl was trying to help her and she hated to worry any of them, but somehow she felt the problem was inside her. For once, she thought, she'd have to fix it herself. "I need to think." She started walking towards the front door without looking back. Behind her, she heard Steven's voice:

"Peridot..?" He sounded painfully doubtful, and his voice almost convinced her of turning around and running towards him. All she did, however, was stopping briefly.

"Don't worry, Steven. I won't go away." Her voice was cool and collected. "I promised, remember?" She continued walking without looking back. As she stepped out of the house and into the cool nocturnal air, Peridot crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly. 

Inside the house, Pearl stood up and watched her student leave, fearing she'd failed. She was distracted however, as a tiny hand grabbed one of hers. She looked down to see Steven, who looked back at her with watery eyes. She kneeled down and hugged him tight, getting some comfort in his warm embrace.

~~~

"Argh! You dumb pebble! You know they want to help! But, oh surprise, you have to leave them. How unamusing, running away like it's their fault... How did you expect this to be of any help!?" Her angry speech soon became but a mumble. Sitting next to the crashing waves, she didn't hear the steps coming her way.

"Hey! You... You OK there..?" Upon hearing the sound, Peridot stood up quickly, surprised. She turned around looking for the source of the voice. She found it was coming from a human she recognized immediately.

"It's you..!" She pointed at him unconsciously and had to make an effort to keep her composure, putting her hand down. The human smiled awkwardly and raised his arms defensively. In one of them, he was holding an unknown device.

"Oops, I... Sorry if I startled you!" Peridot frowned her lips at his words. She sat down again, turning her back on him. Still, talking loud enough to be heard over the sound of the crashing waves, she replied:

"It doesn't matter, dad."

Greg's smile went crooked when she said the word. He'd hoped Steven would have explained the details of its meaning by then. His smile dropped completely however, as he saw the green gem in front of him hug her knees tightly. He doubted a little, looking around for any of the Crystal Gems. Realizing they were alone, he walked up to her. Carefully, he sat down on a spot that was only a couple of feet away from her. Peridot kept her eyes on the sea. The only sign that showed she'd noticed his presence, was tightening the hug on her knees.

Greg felt the need to say something. "You know..." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I've found speaking to yourself won't give you results as good as talking to someone else...!" He laughed awkwardly, but his laughter turned into a cough attack when she looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He blushed slightly, and looked away.

Peridot contemplated him for a moment, and sighed. She cleared her throat to get his attention. He turned his head to look at her, surprised. "Can I... Tell you something?"

Greg blinked twice with his mouth slightly open, before nodding slowly. He listened carefully as Peridot started talking. She didn't hold back, getting the mixed feelings out of her chest by telling him the assortment of situations that had ended up with her on the beach.

~~~

"In that cave... I couldn't do anything..." The mere memory brought a lump to her throat. "There, I felt... Weak. I can't protect them... I can't even fight..." Words were coming out of her mouth haltingly, but she didn't notice. "I let them down..."

Greg's eyes were wide open, fixed on her. He was pretty sure she wasn't crying, but he almost could see tears in her eyes. He raised an arm automatically to try to comfort her, but refrained from touching her, however, and his arm dropped back to his lap again. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"The worst part is..." She paused and breathed deeply before speaking again. "How much they believe... In me?" She inadvertently converted the statement into a question. Greg found that was the moment to talk.

"And... You think that's bad?" He said, speaking carefully low.

Peridot looked at him, doubtfully. "Wha... I..." She shook her head. "Of course not... It's just..." She looked at the sea again. "It makes me realize they're better than me..." Much to her surprise, he laughed slightly.

"Sorry, it's just... They are probably better than all of us..." Peridot looked at him interrogatively, but he only laughed a little more. "At least Steven is." 

Peridot thought for a moment, before nodding once. "Yes. He is better than... Everyone."

Her words were followed by a moment of comfortable silence. Greg was the first one to speak.

"You know... They are very proud of you." She looked at him, but this time Greg kept his eyes on the sea. "Steven can't stop talking about how much you've changed. That's gotta be worth something, right?" 

"How much I've changed..." She thought. "They are proud..?" The thought made her blush slightly.

"Do you still want to find these... 'enhancers'?" He asked.

She frowned her lips, considering the question. "I don't know..." She answered, sounding tired. She lay down on the sand, looking up to the stellated sky. Greg waited for her to continue. "They'd be convenient, at the very least..."

"But..?" He encouraged her.

"But they were... That was me... Before." She'd calmed down a little, much to Greg's relief. "What's the difference between that..." She gestured with her arms, pointing at her left. "And what I am now?" She pointed at her right. She paused for a moment, thinking. "No, I... I believe Pearl was right about it... Getting them back was... Probably not the best idea." She sat up, and took a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I want... I need to get over them. I don't want to rely on them. That's what any other peridot would want to do. What I... No, what they would be supposed to do." As she spoke, her thoughts felt clear for the first time in a while and she was happy to discover it. Greg smiled slightly and nodded.

"That makes sense. You're finding your own way." Peridot observed him as he put the strange device he'd been holding, on his lap. She pointed at it and asked:

"What is that thing?"

Greg followed the direction of her finger before realizing what she meant. He smiled as he answered. "Oh! It's a guitar! I come here to play sometimes." Peridot tipped her head, understanding that the 'guitar' was an instrument. Greg continued to speak, smiling. "This place has good memories! Rose and I use to come here and..." He paused for a moment, and she saw his smile grow sadder. She narrowed her eyes, interested in the change. "It... Gives me inspiration, you know?" He said, caressing the instrument on his lap.

"You mean Rose Quartz?" The name sounded ominous no matter how she pronounced it. He nodded. "Hmm... Rebel. Former leader of the Crystal Gems." All she knew about her. Greg looked at her. "How... Was she?" Peridot's innate curiosity made her ask. Greg smiled.

"Oh well, you know Steven. Like him." His smile widened. "Sweet, considerate, always thinking about the others and never about herself." He laughed slightly. "Better than everyone..." Peridot considered his words for a moment, and then nodded.

"How did you manage to do it?" She asked, after a moment of silence. The question took Greg by surprise.

"Wha..?" Suddenly, he understood. "Oh, you mean the message." He took a hand to his chin. "I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't easy." He spoke proudly, and Peridot listened carefully. "We were close to failing, but we didn't give up. Oh, man, it felt like the old times. I don't intend to brag, but I was a pretty good sound technician back in the day."

"So you are a technician!" Peridot observed him with interest. "Does that mean you work with the Crystal Gems? Handling their communication systems, perhaps?"

Greg blushed slightly upon the question. "Eesh! No, I don't work with them! I'm more of a... Freelancer, maybe..?" He said, doubtfully. Peridot frowned at the new word. "I just like to help when I can..."

Peridot hummed. "But how did you do it? Steven mentioned a wailing stone, but that technology is old as dirt." Greg felt a little awkward under her inquisitive look. "If the Lazuli managed to send the message, there's no way you could receive it in such an outdated device!"

"Oh, yeah! It was awful at first! The wailing stone made a loud noise! And even after trying my best, we couldn't make up what it was saying." He looked up, thinking. "But then, Steven came up with the solution! The message was not sound, it was video!"

Peridot didn't seem surprised at all. "Of course it was! Sound messages are... Archaic!"

"Well, after understanding that, it was way easier." Greg continued. "I connected the signal to a video player. An Earth one, I mean." He didn't notice, but Peridot's eyes were wide open. "I had to regulate it using my equipment. It didn't seem like it'd work at first, but I managed to do it! And when we finally got it, well... It felt awesome!" He smiled widely. At that moment, he noticed Peridot. The gem was staring at him incredulously, and he blushed slightly.

"You're telling me..." She started speaking slowly. "You managed to receive a video message through an outdated sound receptor in one of Earth's archaic devices, using nothing but Earth technology?" Her question was very serious, and Greg doubted a little before answering.

"Yes..?"

"Wow." She frowned, considering his words. After a moment, she looked at him. There was renewed respect in her eyes. "I believe that's what Amethyst would describe as... 'hardcore'." Greg rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, still blushing. "Steven was right, you are very talented."

"Oh, don't say that..." Greg smiled and avoided her eyes.

Peridot seemed surprised at his response. "But it's true! That was an impossible task! Many would have given up... But you... You didn't!" She spoke. "How come you had that much knowledge about gem technology?"

"Well, I..." He laughed slightly. "It was more of an intuitive process. I had to think outside the box! It was nothing like any of my previous works!"

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "Think 'outside the box?" She said, doubtfully.

Greg blinked twice before answering. "Huh? Oh, it means getting a change in perspective! See, sometimes a problem is not as hard as it looks, it's you that needs to change your approach!"

Peridot tipped her head. "A change in perspective..." She mumbled, thoughtfully, observing the sea.

"Steven tells me you're pretty good too... With machines and stuff..?" Said Greg, wishing to keep the conversation alive. When Peridot answered, her voice was slightly lower than before.

"I suppose..." She frowned her lips. "If there's anything I'm good at..."

Greg noticed the change in her voice and remembered the problem that had brought her to the beach. He accommodated the guitar in its place and started playing the instrument. "Do you... Want to hear what I think?" He asked, still feeling a little doubtful. Peridot observed him for a moment, and then nodded. 

"Maybe you haven't tried..." He stopped, trying to find a proper way to say his thoughts out loud. "Following your own path." Peridot observed him with interest. "You have to... Play your own instrument. See what I mean?"

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "No..."

Greg smiled awkwardly. "Well... Not everyone can play the guitar. I can, but others can't. However, others can play the piano, which I never learned to do. See where I'm going?" Peridot frowned thoughtfully before nodding. She was pretty sure 'piano' was another instrument. "Being bad at something doesn't mean... You're bad... It just means you are good at something else!''

''Maybe your enhancers weren't bad, but they weren't your instrument. Maybe Pearl's sword training is cool, but it isn't your instrument..." He unconsciously kept playing a serene tune. "Even without a weapon, there's still stuff you're good at." Suddenly, he realized the situation he was being part of was pretty odd. He, giving anyone, specially a gem, fighting advice. "Oh, what do I know!" He laughed slightly. "Maybe you shouldn't listen to an old man's advice..." He chuckled, but she didn't laugh. Fearing he'd said something wrong, he searched her eyes. She was looking at the sea again. "Peridot..?" He couldn't tell if she was even listening.

Peridot was distracted, as shown by her eyes, fixed on the reflex of the moon on the sea. "Think outside the box." She thought. "Play my own instrument." She discovered his words made sense in very particular way. She couldn't describe it, but they were connected. Somehow, they shared a bond. Thoughts raced through her mind, trying to find the connection. The missing link. The solution.

Suddenly, a spark lit up in her eyes. She felt a shiver run through her complete body, as something clicked in her mind. An idea. A possibility. She stood up feeling oddly stiff, almost tense, filled with wild excitement. She turned around to look at a surprised Greg. When she talked, she had to make an effort to sound collected. It didn't quite work.

"D-Dad? I need to ask you a favor."

Greg stood up too, concerned about the sudden change in her attitude. "Sure... I... Are you OK?"

Peridot didn't seem to listen, still caught up in her thinking. She managed to answer: ''I'll be fine... Don't worry. Please, tell Steven not to worry either. And the others. I will... I need to go to the barn.''

''The barn?'' Greg felt lost, but he made an effort to understand. Peridot started walking, and Greg followed her. ''What's the hurry? What's happening?''

Peridot answered without looking back. ''I... You gave me an idea.'' Greg's eyes widened. ''A really odd one... But one I want... I need to try. I need to get to the barn immediately, time is of the essence.''

She was walking really fast, enough to make Greg have to make an effort to keep up. ''Wait! You sure you don't need any help?'' He said, starting to breath heavily.

Peridot stopped and turned around to look at him. ''If there's one thing I need, it's transportation.'' 

Greg was surprised, but also pleased, when he saw her eyes. They were bright, almost sparkly. He didn't hesitate. With a smile, he nodded. ''I'll get the van.''

~~~

The trip was silent, so much that Greg started to worry again. Peridot kept her eyes out the window, and her thoughts for herself. When they arrived, she got off the car almost immediately. Greg attempted to do the same, but she, with the van's door still open, stopped him, raising a hand and speaking with a much more calmed voice than before.

''I still need you to help me, but not here...'' Greg stopped moving and paid attention. ''I'll have to work during the night... I need them to know I'm fine. Specially Steven.''

''Hmm.'' Greg nodded. ''You sure that's everything you need?''

''I... Tell Steven to bring his backpack. It may come in handy.'' She paused for a moment, thinking. ''And tell them to be here tomorrow early, at the ninth hour after the start of Earth's rotation cycle.''

Greg raised an eyebrow, but he nodded again in understanding. ''At nine. OK!'' He switched to reverse, about to move the car, when Peridot's voice interrupted his departure.

''And... Dad?'' Greg observed her with attention. ''Thank you.''

The sincere appreciation in her voice gave Greg a warm feeling in his chest. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. ''No problem! Told you I like to help when I can!''

Peridot returned the smile and nodded. She carefully closed the door and observed the vehicle moving as it disappeared in the distance. She turned around and looked at the barn. The night was appropriately silent as she walked inside it. She calculated she'd have twelve or eleven Earth hours before the Crystal Gems' arrival. Enough time. It'd have to be enough. As she started looking for the implements she would need, she couldn't help noticing the excitement that embarked her mind. She was aware that what she was about to do, no other peridot had done before. While working, all she could think about was his words. ''Her own instrument.''

~~~

Steven felt excited and also oddly nervous as they arrived. Whatever Peridot had in mind, it was sure to be interesting, as shown by his dad's excited expression the night before, when he gave them the news. Now, arriving at the barn, Steven was almost impatient. Sitting next to him inside the van, Greg felt the exact same way. It was already nine, and the doors of the barn were wide open. 

Behind Steven and his dad, the rest of the Crystal Gems followed their vehicle in their own, an old truck Pearl had borrowed from Greg to make transportation to the barn easier for Steven. At first, he offered his van to help them, knowing the old truck had been abandoned inside the barn for a couple of decades. Pearl fixed it herself, a task Greg would have considered impossible, and had no problem in learning how to drive it. It was now occupied by the three gems, who, although they didn't show it as much, were as interested as Steven in the matter that had brought them there.

As she saw the two vehicles stop in front of the barn and the drill, Peridot felt a knot in her stomach. The night had gone almost unnoticed, as she hadn't stopped working for one moment. But the hardest part was still about to begin, she thought. She walked outside.

The day was bright with a clear sky that extended perfectly blue to the horizon. Steven stepped out of the van as soon as it stopped moving, and the rest imitated him, although moving slower. Steven didn't waste a second, running towards Peridot and almost tripping once.

''Peridot!'' He said while approaching her. ''Are you..?''

''Steven! I'm perfectly fine!'' Seeing him made her smile, despite her nervousness. ''I... Sorry if I worried you...'' Steven shook his head, smiling widely.

''I tried my best...'' Greg said, closing the van's door and rubbing the back of his neck. ''But I don't think he slept a minute thinking about today.'' Peridot looked at Steven with attention and the boy yawned, almost as a remark of his dad's words. ''Should I...'' Greg continued. Peridot raised an eyebrow, not understanding. ''Go..?'' Greg finished, avoiding her eyes. Peridot caught up on the meaning of his words and felt slightly surprised by his suggestion.

''Please stay! I-I mean... If you don't mind...'' Greg too was surprised, but he managed to smile as he nodded. Peridot felt happy he agreed. She directed her attention to the rest of the gems, who had approached them too. Their faces were serious, but denoted curiosity, and they were all standing around her at that moment. Pearl spoke:

''Alright. We are here. Now, can you please tell us what's going on?'' She said, trying to sound patient. Peridot nodded firmly, swallowing her doubts.

''Thank you for coming.''

''Dude, we would have come here anyway.'' Amethyst snickered, mocking her playfully, but she also gave Peridot a wide smile.

''R-Right.'' Peridot said. She searched for the right words to start, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Everyone was looking at her with interest and her inquietude got the best of her, as she failed to start right away. Noticing her doubts, Steven hastily said:

''Hey! It's OK! You know you can tell us anything...' He tried to sound reassuring and Peridot appreciated it. She took a deep breath and nodded before clearing her throat. She started talking.

''I believe... We've all come to terms with the fact that I'm... Weak.'' Three mouths opened to reply immediately, but she raised a hand to stop them. ''Please! Allow me to further explain. I am. I know that.'' She inadvertently sounded sad, but her next words had a different tone. ''However, that's not to say I'm useless... I see that now. I'm trying my best, and you...'' She looked at all of them, Greg included. ''You made me realize that's what's important.'' Garnet smiled half way and Peridot noticed it. 

''Even so... I'm still not strong enough. Not enough to protect anyone, not even myself.'' Her voice hinted a little sadness. ''And that is a problem.'' She paused for a moment. ''When the time comes, we will need to be able to fight. Each one of us. And I fear even that might not be enough.'' Her words were strong, and everyone listened with attention. Greg felt out of place, but he kept listening, trying not show any reaction upon her words. ''A peridot might not be a fighter, but I can try. I have tried, and I will keep trying. To protect you. To protect myself.'' Pearl smiled, pleased at her words. Steven was barely able to content his excitement.

''Back in the cave... I understood something.'' She kept going, completely caught up in her speech. ''The Dad helped me understand too. And I've come to a conclusion.'' She took a deep breath before continuing. ''I don't want my enhancers anymore.'' Amethyst's mouth opened slightly. ''They were part of my... Old self. I don't want that part of me to come back.'' Pearl covered her mouth in awe, understanding the importance of her words. Peridot didn't notice, as she wasn't looking at her. ''I put you in danger looking for them, for which now I apologize. It was foolish of my part.'' Her words were sad, and Steven felt the need to say something. He kept quiet, however, as she continued speaking. ''The reason why I brought you here is because you all made me realize something important. I'm not useless.'' Her words were liberating, and she couldn't help sounding excited. ''I might be weak, but not useless. I've failed so much since I came to Earth that I almost convinced myself of the contrary.'' She smiled sadly. ''Yesterday, dad told me something... That helped me understand. Two things, to be exact.'' For a moment, everyone's attention centered on Greg, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.

''The first one was about the way of solving my problem.'' She looked directly at Greg. ''You told me to think 'outside the box'.'' There was no longer nervousness in her voice, it had been replaced by confidence. ''To see a problem from a different perspective.'' She crossed her arms behind her back. ''I've been trying hard to summon my weapon, to learn how to sword fight or even to get my enhancers back, all for the sake of leaving my weakness behind. But none of my attempts have been... Effective.'' She hoped Pearl wouldn't feel offended by her words, but the tall gem's face showed no reaction. ''So... Maybe, my approach to the problem... Was part of the problem. I have been trying your ways. Even my old way; the other peridots' way.''

''And that's where the other part of dad's words come in.'' Greg blinked twice, feeling a little lost. ''He told me... To find my own instrument. My own way. Even if I still haven't summoned my weapon... I can try to find my instrument.'' She paused for a moment. ''A way of fighting. One that's not based on your... Or anyone else's ways. And I tried to find it... And I believe I did.'' She looked at each one of them for a moment, feeling the importance of her words. ''It wasn't easy. I had to think outside the box. I gave it my best effort.'' She inadvertently started talking faster, feeling nervous again, all of the sudden. ''It's still not completely finished... but I believe it might work. I'm confident, it will.'' She looked at their eyes. ''All I want is a chance to prove it. To prove I can fight in my own way. To prove both you... And me.'' She finished speaking and avoided their eyes, waiting for their reaction. For a moment, there was nothing but silence and she couldn't help fearing the worst. She raised her eyes, however, slightly surprised as one of them approached her.

Pearl's eyes were watery, and Peridot blushed slightly when the gem kneeled down to look at her directly. ''Of course we will give you a chance. All the ones you need, in fact.'' Her voice was soft. Peridot opened her mouth slightly and looked around her. Everyone looked at her with... Love? Pride...? She felt the need to say something, but words failed her and all she could do was nodding. Amethyst, smiling cheerfully, said:

''Well, what are we waiting for?'' Peridot smiled at her, and Steven did the same out of sheer joy. Joy granted by Peridot's radiant smile.

~~~

Steven's stomach complained, reminding him lunch time was close. He ignored it, however, too busy paying attention at the green gem in the middle of the 'arena', which was actually just a clear field in the surroundings of the barn. Pearl had expressed her desire to move to an actual arena, most likely referring to The Sky Arena, but Amethyst didn't want to wait a second more. After thinking it briefly, Garnet conceded. They were all very curious, after all, and that place was pretty much deserted of humans.

Standing almost awkwardly in her self assigned position, Peridot felt the reassuring weight of the backpack she was holding in her hands. Steven didn't forget to bring it, and she was thankful about that. Inside it, she kept her... She wasn't sure what to call them yet. The human invention was a quick substitute to gem storage, which, by Peridot's calculations, was not fast enough to serve the purpose she was about to need. Standing at a safe distance from her, everyone observed her. Peridot's knees shook slightly, but she made an effort to remain calmed. She took a deep breath, before yelling at the gems:

''Alright! I'm ready!'' She clenched her fists around the backpack's sleeves, trying to gather courage. ''I need a partner!''

''I'll do it!'' Amethyst didn't wait for anyone's confirmation before quickly walking closer to Peridot. Pearl wished to be the first one too, but Amethyst had been clear about her desire to be Peridot's training partner since the beginning of it all, and she kept her thoughts for herself. She contented with yelling at them:

''Be careful, you two! No roughhousing!'' 

Amethyst smiled half way. ''I knew you'd say that.'' She murmured. She looked at Peridot, who was still separated from her by a good distance. ''Don't worry, nerd, I won't hurt you.'' She smiled. ''But don't think I'll go too easy on you!'' Her smile turned into a more feral one. Peridot swallowed thickly, but she murmured: ''I know you won't.'' At that moment, she raised her voice. ''Good! Now... Let's just...'' She bit her lower lip, still a little insecure. She breathed deeply one more time. There was no turning back, she thought. That was her moment. ''Alright. Give me your best shot.'' Her voice was firmer than before, and Amethyst's smile widened, pleased. 

Time seemed to move slower for everyone, as all their attention centered on the two gems. Standing between Garnet and his dad, Steven grabbed one of their hands with each one of his. Greg looked at him and smiled reassuringly, although a unsettling hint of nervousness could be seen in his eyes. Garnet didn't look at him, too focused on the events about to occur. Tension was almost unbearable, and Steven's stomach was a tight knot.

Amethyst didn't stop smiling, which Peridot found oddly unsettling, as she took her whip out of her gem. Peridot didn't waste a moment, she quickly searched the backpack for what was going be her first... Instrument. Steven had explained to her the storage system that the different pockets provided, and she had made sure to learn the exact position of her equipment. Inside the ''cheese'' pocket, she found it.

''Alright, you asked for it!'' Amethyst yelled, right before violently cracking her whip in Peridot's direction. The movement was smooth and quick, directed to Peridot's legs. The green gem saw it coming, however, and made the only movement she could think: she jumped as high as her legs allowed her. She was barely able to follow the trajectory of the whip, but she let her instinct guide her. She would have been fearful, but it happened to quickly. She did it perfectly, in the precise moment, and the whip didn't touch her. In the distance, Pearl took a step forward, without thinking, impressed by her timing. ''What the..?'' Was Amethyst's thinking. She got distracted for a moment, and Peridot didn't. The green gem landed on her feet, feeling out of balance but completely focused on the battle. Without wasting a moment, she pointed the device in her hand in Amethyst's direction, and everyone was surprised as a beam of light emerged from it, directed to the gem. Even distracted as she was, Amethyst was still able to avoid it, quickly rolling to her right. Peridot smiled widely, excited upon verifying her invention worked.

Pearl gasped. ''A laser?! What is she thinking?!'' She yelled, about to lose her mind. Garnet took a step forward too, about to intervene, but Peridot had heard them, and made an effort to calm their doubts.

''Wait! It's not lethal!'' She yelled in response. ''It won't hurt..!'' She intended to finish the sentence with the word ''her'', but was suddenly interrupted by an object moving quickly in her direction. Amethyst had learned her lesson, and hadn't been distracted by the exchange between the gems and Peridot. The latter, seeing her approach quickly, emitted a quiet ''Eeep!'' before returning her attention to the battle. Amethyst was moving too quickly to aim properly, but Peridot was fast enough to direct the laser in a barrage motion, across the ground in front of the purple gem. The ground exploded in a cloud of dirt and grass, and the last Peridot saw of her was Amethyst shielding her face with an arm. The cloud expanded slowly, and Peridot waited, tense and still aiming, for any sign of her. When she came from a different direction, moving even faster and with her whip prepared to strike, Peridot knew she had no chance of firing the laser again. With an imprecation, she quickly activated the second function of the device and dropped it to the ground. Amethyst saw her do it and smiled triumphantly, taking it as a sign of defeat. She was surprised, however, as the green gem turned around, covering her eyes. 

The blast took everyone by surprise. Its light was extremely bright, enough to make Steven close his eyes from his safe position. It made a high pitched sound that made him cover his ears too. When he opened his eyes, a white cloud of smoke was covering the center of the field. He grew concerned about the two gems, who had been so close to the explosion. Pearl and Garnet had their mouths slightly opened, completely focused in the development of the fight.

Inside the cloud of smoke, Peridot felt completely lost. She had acted without thinking, and was now paying the consequences. Even after not looking directly at it, the light and the sound had been strong enough to confuse and dazzle her. The secondary blast of the laser gun was not to be used that close to her, she reminded herself. Internally, she felt bad for Amethyst, who'd been even more unprepared. Almost blinded, Peridot ran in the direction she thought contrary to Amethyst's. She tripped and fell on her knee, but took the chance to quickly search inside the backpack. It was hard to think clear, and she grabbed the first thing she could think useful. And then, she heard Amethyst.

''...sneaky Clod!'' The gem sounded annoyed. ''I don't need to see you...'' Peridot stood up looking around her and trying to find the source of the voice inside all the smoke. ''To find you!'' Amethyst yelled, and her shout was followed by a feral growl. This time Peridot couldn't see it coming, but she wasn't completely surprised when the whip tangled itself around her legs. ''Gotcha!'' Amethyst yelled triumphantly. Peridot couldn't help screaming in surprise as the whip dragged her, making her fall on her back and lose her grip on the backpack. She felt scared, knowing she'd lost the rest of her equipment, but her mind worked quickly as she was being dragged. The smoke was already dissipating, and she still had a gadget in her hand. She saw Amethyst, right before the gem raised her from the ground with a violent pull at the end of the whip. The purple gem held her eyes closed, but was smiling. Peridot couldn't think about it too long, as the odd feeling of being disconnected from the ground made her scream in displeasure. She landed next to Amethyst with an unceremonious ''plump.''

''I gotcha now, you green shrimp!'' Amethyst made an effort to open her eyes, but everything seemed too bright. Acting and thinking quickly, Peridot looked at the device in her hand and smiled widely. Exactly what she needed. She quickly placed its sticky end on the whip around her knees and activated it. The device, however, showed no reaction, which made Peridot cringe.

''Not now!'' She tried activating it again. Nothing happened. ''Work, you dumb thing..!'' She yelled in desperation. Amethyst heard her, and it took her just a moment to read the situation.

''Oh, no! You're not doing that... Again!'' With her last word, she swang Peridot around, trying to stop her from using another device. Peridot, however, managed to press the button on the device one more time, and much to her surprise, it activated. She was already in the air, however, being swung around by Amethyst, and her sense of triumph soon turned into an unpleasant one. Even so, the device had been activated. With a sudden spark, it emitted an electric shock that traveled both up and down the whip. Both Peridot and Amethyst were zapped with intensity by it, but Amethyst dropped the whip in mid air. Peridot, with it wrapped around her knees, didn't have that much luck. As she fell to the ground, the electricity ran painfully through her body. The device had a small battery, however, and it drained quickly. Even before it did, Peridot was already on her feet, running towards her backpack.

''No you don't!'' Yelled Amethyst, taking another whip out of her gem. Peridot heard her, but that only made her run faster. Amethyst managed to open her eyes long enough to be barely able to see her and prepared one more time to swing her whip, this time in direction to her waist, trying to catch her arms. A shout coming from their spectators remind her they were still there.

''Roll over!'' Pearl yelled, sheer excitement in her voice. ''Come on, I know you have reflexes, use them!''

''Oh, so you've already picked a side!'' With those words, Amethyst cracked the whip directly at Peridot. The latter had heard Pearl's words, and managed to roll over as she suggested, barely avoiding the whip. The movement was far from graceful, but it effectively protected her from Amethyst's whip. She stood up immediately to continue her race towards the backpack. Amethyst was still only barely able to see, but she prepared to strike again. Peridot had already won distance, however, and she had to run in her direction.

Acting almost solely out of instinct, Peridot slid towards the backpack as soon as she was close enough. She landed next to it and quickly searched for another instrument. This time, she took a moment to look at Amethyst and plan her next move. What she saw forced to look for a very specific implement, however, as the purple gem was now rolling in a spin dash and approaching her at a high speed. Peridot had just the right time to look for it. She closed her eyes as she activated it, wishing with all her strength that it wouldn't fail. When it happened, the impact was strong and made Steven scream quietly.

''That bubble!'' Garnet took off her glasses and observed the collusion with an absolutely amazed expression. 

As soon as Peridot pressed the button that activated her device, a bubble materialized around her complete body. It was green and was barely tall enough to cover her completely, but when Amethyst crashed against it, it didn't break. The purple gem's intention was to slow down at the last moment and knock Peridot on her back, at most, but she failed to think quickly enough, distracted by the apparition of the bubble. Hitting it was like crashing against a wall of bricks. Peridot, with her eyes closed, only realized it had worked as the bubble rolled violently in the opposite direction. She crashed painfully against its insides until it settled down. As soon as it did, the bubble blinked twice before fading completely. The device it was coming from buzzed loudly before emitting a little cloud of smoke and growing silent.

Peridot felt dizzy and confused as she lay on the ground, after it disappeared. Luckily, her backpack was caught up inside the force field, and was now laying next to her. Her whole body ached, and the emotion of the battle had wore off. Now, she was just tired. Still, she sat up and looked at her opponent, who was still standing in the distance. Amethyst looked back. She was covered in dirt and grass, and her hair was a mess, but she was smiling fiercely. She was squinting her eyes, but she looked... Excited. As tired as she was, Peridot couldn't help feeling excited in response. She made an effort to return the smile and stood up with shaky legs. Amethyst prepared her whip and Peridot opened her backpack to extract her last item. They were both tired and pained, but ready to keep the fight going. Which only made it more anticlimactic when Garnet cleared her throat to get their attention.

''That was enough!'' She yelled. The two combatant gems looked at her, clearly surprised upon her interruption. ''If you continue, one of you is gonna end up poofed!''

''Oh, come on! We're just getting started!'' Amethyst replied, sounding annoyed.

''Amethyst, you're both completely beat up!'' Pearl said. ''And you managed to scare Steven!'' She pointed at the boy, who was clinging to his father's hand. He immediately blushed and let go of him.

''W-What? No they didn't!'' He said, but his voice cracked in the most painfully obvious way possible. Amethyst heard him and laughed slightly. Peridot, still feeling a little tense, couldn't help laughing a little bit too. Once she started, however, she was unable to stop. Amethyst too started laughing harder, until Steven himself joined them in laughter. Even Pearl snickered lowly, although she made an effort to hide it, covering her mouth. Garnet and Greg only smiled, the latter a raising an eyebrow, and interchanged looks.

Peridot dropped to the floor, sitting, and waited for the laugh attack to wear off. The match had ended, and everyone perceived it that way. As such, she was not surprised when the Crystal Gems and Greg approached her. Amethyst too had walked up to her and was now offering her a hand. Peridot took it and made a surprised sound when the gem pulled her hand suddenly, making her stand up to squeeze her in a strong hug. Amethyst laughed out of sheer enjoyment as she embraced her.

''Peri that was awesome!'' Peridot tried to push her away, but couldn't help laughing with her. ''I hadn't had that much fun in ages!'' She dropped the green gem, who staggered slightly upon the release.

''It... Was..?'' She asked. Steven was the one to reply.

''Are you bananas? That was the coolest battle I've ever, ever, seen!'' He raised his arms dramatically as a remark, and Peridot blushed slightly upon his words. Pearl kneeled down and grabbed the burnt device that was lying next to the backpack. She examined it before talking.

''Peridot! You... Created these..?'' Her words were slightly doubtful.

''I... Of course..!'' Peridot seemed a little surprised upon her question.

''In one night?!'' Pearl's jaw dropped. Peridot nodded, still a little surprised. ''Wha- I..! That is just..!''

''Awesome.'' Garnet finished her sentence. Pearl looked at her, then at Peridot. And smiled as she nodded, with her mouth still half open. Garnet smiled at Peridot. ''This is it.''

''It..?'' Peridot asked doubtfully.

''You found your way.'' Her smile widened. Peridot's mouth opened slightly, before she smiled widely. She started laughing out of sheer joy and hugged Steven strongly, lifting him off his feet without noticing. The boy laughed too and returned the hug.

''Steven! I did it! I can't believe I did it!'' She dropped him and grabbed his face between her hands.

''I can!'' He said.

''Huh?'' Peridot cringed her lips doubtfully.

''I always knew you would!'' A bright smile lit up his face, and Peridot felt herself blush before hugging him one more time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter eight! I would really appreciate to read your thoughts about this chapter, my friends. How do you feel about the more adventure-esque part of it? The action part, I mean. I personally believe it was OK, but whether you liked or not might decide the direction this story is heading. So, let me know!
> 
> If you felt that the end of this chapter was a little abrubt, I apologize, I didn't have the time nor the energy to keep writing. Not publishing this today would mean not publishing for the rest of the week, most likely, and I didn't want to let you guys down like that. Baby-sized hiatus is still on for the first week of January, I'm afraid! So no promises about a new chapter next week. Sorry about that!
> 
> Hiatus nears its end! Thankfully, one might add. I'm super hyped about the Steven Bomb arc! I'm sure tons of new ideas will come out of it. I'm also sure it will completely destroy my headcanons, but hey! That's what we have fanfics for.
> 
> Lastly, the idea for the relationship between Greg and Peridot was suggested by 'purpletrauma' in the comment section, so props to him for coming up with it. Remember you can suggest ideas too!
> 
> That's it guys! Sorry if some bits of this chapter were out of pacing or just plain rough, I had to work most of it overnight, as my days have been very busy lately. (They have also been a lot of fun!) I promise I'll come back and check it out, and try to fix it, as soon as I have free time. Thanks again for all the reviews! I love reading what you think, so that's the biggest contribution you can make to this story. So far your support has been amazing, and I'm thankful for it. See you guys next time!


	9. Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's come such a long way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back! Yeah, that's right, that jerk that left for a complete month without any kind of notice. But more on the subject at the end of this chapter. For now, enjoy lotsa-Peridot!

"I have to admit, I'd always known you were capable of the outstanding, but this... This was a whole new level." Peridot blushed lightly upon Pearl's words. She didn't say anything, however, waiting instead for the tall gem standing in front of her to continue speaking. "You had nothing to prove before, but now... Now you have nothing to doubt." The tips of her lips curved up slightly, and the green gem avoided her eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, yet pleased. Between them, carefully placed in a straight line, lay the used up remains of Peridot's devices, grouped in piles. Some, like the laser gun, were just unidentifiable pieces of scrap, other ones looked almost untouched, but their batteries were empty.

The Ancient Sky Arena was, one more time, the scenario of their reunion. They were standing right in the middle of it, presenting an odd image to anyone observing them; Peridot, with her hands crossed behind her back, holding between them her empty "cheeseburger" backpack; and Pearl, facing Peridot, resting her hands on a sword. Pearl's posture and position were perfectly aligned to the one of her sword. They both looked rather formal. Like a teacher and her student were supposed to look, thought Peridot.

Suddenly, much to Peridot's surprise, a smile crossed Pearl's face. The short gem looked at her with an eyebrow raised interrogatively. Pearl continued to smile widely, but shook her head.

"It's nothing, really." She said, nonchalantly. "I'm just really happy about you."

"I..! I see..." Peridot mumbled. A smile crossed her face instantaneously, the formality of the situation somewhat lifted as Pearl adopted a slightly more relaxed posture.

"About how far you've come..." Pearl's comment caught her off guard. She was looking at the green gem with sincere appreciation. Peridot opened her mouth to reply, but Pearl continued speaking. "I brought you here because we have matters to discuss." She quickly adopted a more serious tone again. "You made a huge improvement yesterday. You found a way to get over the impediment of your lack of the ability to summon your weapon. You used your wit to overcome your weakness." Peridot stood there, blushing and filled with pride. "I expect you to understand this changes many things and, as your teacher, I feel obliged to ask..." Her eyes landed on Peridot's. "Are you still willing to continue our lessons?" Her tone was serious, yet her voice was soft. Pearl was making an effort not to put any pressure on her..

The importance of her question didn't slip past Peridot. When she answered, she spoke seriously too. "I... I've thought about this too." She looked her in the eyes as she spoke, confidence filling her voice. "I didn't have to think too much about it to know the answer." She smiled half way. "I said it before and I meant it. I won't give up on training!" Pearl smiled, pleased. "I'd never been so fast as I was yesterday! Or had such quick reflexes, or..!" The short gem noticed she'd started talking too excitedly and cleared her throat, controlling herself. "Or have a fight as... Successful as that one. It doesn't take a genius to know it had to do with this..." She moved her hand pointing at the arena they were standing on. Peridot wasn't looking directly at Pearl anymore. Her voice was low, but clear. "I... I learned it all from you..." She clenched her fist and raised her eyes. "I want to keep learning, even if it's only sword fighting, I don't care!" Excitement filled Peridot's voice one more time, but she didn't care to show it this time. "I just want to learn from you!" Pearl's eyes widened upon her last words, and these were followed by a moment of silence.

Surprisingly for Peridot, Pearl opened her mouth to speak, but didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes derailed and fell on her hands. The silence prolonged for what felt way longer than it actually was, but Peridot didn't attempt to speak. For some reason, Pearl's hands didn't seem to be able to stay still on the sword'shandle. When the tall gem finally spoke, she strengthened her grip on the sword and her voice was neutral.

"Is that... Do you really mean what you just said?"

"Huh? Of course I do!" The question seemed unnecessary. "Why wouldn't I..?"

"Could you... Could you do me a favor and pick up your things?" Pearl interrupted her. As soon as she finished talking, Pearl proceeded to store the sword in her gem with a quick and elegant move. She turned around and headed towards the stairs, leaving Peridot behind, confused and surprised.

"W-Wait! What are you doing?" She kneeled down and quickly but carefully put her stuff inside the backpack. "Where are you going? Is training over already?" Pearl stopped walking and turned her head to answer:

"There's something I'd like to show you." She continued walking immediately. Peridot raised an eyebrow at her enigmatic response, yet she quickly followed her to the pad.

Pearl arrived first, and as soon as Peridot stepped on it, she activated the pad. "Show me something?" No answer this time. Pearl didn't even look at her. Peridot hummed, starting to feel annoyed. She tried waiting patiently, but finally, her curiosity got the best of her. "Why are you not answering? Was it something I said?" The question was sincere, but the pearl continued to avoid her eyes. Her face didn't reveal a single detail of what was going on her mind. "Tsk." Peridot crossed her arms and pouted. Yet, sensing something off about Pearl's behavior, the green gem took a closer look at her. She was obviously abstracted, but upon closer observation her face revealed just a hint of nervousness. The feeling of annoyance disappeared from Peridot's chest, replaced by concern. Whatever thoughts had Pearl in that state, it was unusual of her. "Pearl..? Are you..?" Peridot didn't finish talking, however, as she was interrupted by their arrival at their destination.

They were in a place Peridot had never seen before. She emitted a quiet "Wow..." When she looked around. They were surrounded by vegetation of a variety that resulted completely new to her. Coming out of the ground, green with pink flowers here and there, the vegetation had clearly been planted in a logic order, separated from each other by the same amount of space. Peridot took a deep breath, perceiving the fresh scent of the flowers. "Where... Are we..?" She murmured. Much to Peridot's surprise, Pearl answered her question.

"A garden." The answer, although still enigmatic, helped clear the concerns about Pearl from Peridot's mind. "Well, at least you're talking again." She said. Pearl didn't seem to hear her. She stepped off the pad and started walking. "W-Wait!" Peridot followed her, just a few steps behind. As she walked, she turned around several times, trying to look at everything the place had to offer. Despite her opinion of the human creation named 'garden' being almost completely useless, she couldn't help sensing that that was not just a common garden. She swallowed thickly and walked closer to Pearl, oddly intimidated by the tall vegetation and the ominous silence, only interrupted by the rhythmic tapping of their feet against the ground.

Soon, however, another sound reached to her. She was looking back, still feeling a little tense, and it took her a moment to realize what the sound was, and where it was coming from. It sounded liquid, she realized almost unconsciously, probably water. It was coming from someplace in front of them, she realized too. Then, she looked forward, momentarily leaving nervousness behind, and that was when looked at her. And for a moment, it seemed like she looked back.

She rose from the center of a fountain, tall, proud, peaceful, yet oddly unsettling. Her arms open in an inviting gesture, and a seemingly endless stream of tears weeping from her eyes. Peridot stopped dead in her track, suddenly assaulted by the idea that she was not supposed to be there. Pearl, in front of her, stopped too, but only to take a short look at the statue before sighing. She continued walking and sat down on the border of the fountain, from where she directed her eyes to Peridot.

The latter hadn't moved, unable to look away from the magnificent statue. She'd recognized her the moment she saw it. Something about looking at it awoke a feeling inside her, something she couldn't explain. Peridot inadvertently crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling vulnerable under the statue's gaze.

"Peridot?" Pearl talked, failing to recognize Peridot's uneasy feelings. When Pearl said her name, the spell was broken. "It's just a statue!" She thought. Not very different than the picture of her that was hung up over the front door back at the beach house. Still, it somehow managed to make her feel odd. Peridot looked at Pearl. The gem patted the place next to her, inviting Peridot to sit down. Almost reluctantly, Peridot walked towards her. Her eyes nervously moved from Pearl to the statue a couple of times, but she sat down on the edge of the fountain too, facing the garden. The thought of turning her back on the statue gave her chills, and she turned around to look at it one more time.

"Everything OK?" Pearl asked.

"What is this place?" Peridot evaded answering the question. Luckily, Pearl didn't seem to notice.

"I told you. A garden." Pearl delicately put her hands on her knees. She was looking at the plants again. "A garden she planted." Her voice was soft, and Peridot sensed a hint of sadness. Just like every time she talked about her.

"Rose Quartz..." Peridot murmured. It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Pearl turned around to look at the statue. "Rose..." There was a moment of silence, interrupted only by the non-stopping sound of the water falling from the statue's eyes.

Peridot cleared her throat, still feeling uneasy. The atmosphere of the garden was almost oppressing, in an odd and inexplicable way. "Why... Why did you want to show it to me?"

Pearl remained quiet for a moment more. "There's a reason why she loved it here." Peridot looked at her with curiosity. "She told it to me, not too long ago." Her hand caressed the stone of the fountain's edge, stopping briefly over a small broken piece of it. She directed her eyes to Peridot. "She said it was like Earth." Pearl smiled sadly. "Small, beautiful, peaceful... Vulnerable." Peridot didn't know what to say, so she remained quiet. "It needs protection, just like Earth. Rose Quartz believed the Earth was worth protecting, and she gave it all to do so. Now... It's just us. But the mission's the same." Peridot remained unable to speak.

"That duty is ours now." She directed her view to the garden. "We, the Crystal Gems swore to protect it, and we will never let Earth be damaged." Her voice had turned strong. "It's the least we can do." She looked at Peridot again. Her eyes had been sad, but were now fiery. "Peridot, do you understand why?" She looked and sounded almost tense when she made the question. Peridot felt that she was expecting the right answer.

Peridot looked down at her hands for a second, and then directed her eyes to the garden. "Love. Earth is your home. You... You love it."

Pearl sighed, relaxing her shoulders, and nodded. "I'm glad you understand." A moment of silence followed her words. "Peridot, do you know why I wanted you to come here?"

Peridot didn't have to look at Pearl to know she was looking at her with intensity. "Yes." The breeze made the leaves make a quiet noise. The sounds seemed to be in harmony with each other, and the smell of the flowers mixed perfectly with the ones of the dirt and grass to create a unique perfume. Peridot took a deep breath. "You want me to become a Crystal Gem." The breeze continued to move the leaves, the water continued to make its incessant noise.

Her own words resonated in her mind. Pearl's silence was the only confirmation she needed of her intentions. A Crystal Gem. A defender of Earth and humanity, a renegade, a traitor to Homeworld. Everything she never thought she would become. Everything she'd always despised. Then, why was it that she couldn't even think of saying 'no' immediately?

"You said you want to learn from me. I'm honored." Her words were honest. "There's only so much that I can teach you, and I'll be glad to do so, but there's one thing you should know. All I know, I learned from her." Pearl stood up and turned around to look at the statue. "By letting me be your guide, you'll be following Rose Quartz's path." Peridot swallowed thickly. "You've come a long way, Peridot." Pearl stood directly in front of her and Peridot stood up too, almost automatically. "I know Rose would have been proud. But there's still a step you need to take, in order to continue." She kneeled down on one knee and looked at Peridot directly in the eyes.

Peridot already expected the question that followed, but it didn't make it any less impressive when Pearl pronounced it with a solemn voice.

"Peridot. Are you willing to accept the responsibility of becoming a Crystal Gem?"

The sun continued to shine, the breeze moved the leaves...

~~~

"Come on, guys!" Steven exclaimed, running up the hill with the oddly shaped instrument called ukulele in his hands. Walking behind him, Peridot raised an eyebrow. She silently wondered what'd gotten him so worked up. Laughing and holding a folded mantle, Connie ran past her, pursuing Steven. Slightly confused, Peridot looked at Pearl interrogatively, but the gem walking by her side didn't notice her eyes. She was distracted, looking at a curiously shaped object atop the hill, next to a now heavily breathing Steven. In her hand, Pearl was carrying a "basket", another human storage invention that Peridot, despite founding it simple, thought useful.

Peridot followed the trajectory of Pearl's eyes and looked at the object too. It was short, thick and, as she realized when she got closer to it, rounded in shape. It seemed to come out of the very ground. Next to it, Steven and Connie had set up the mantle, on which they were now sitting.

She hummed thoughtfully. The "picnic" Steven had promised was proving to be quite a complex human tradition.

"Alright! Snack time!" Amethyst who'd been walking behind them, tried to take the basket out of Pearl's hands. Even as distracted as she was, the other was able to keep it away from Amethyst's grip with a quick movement.

"Amethyst! You know these are for everybody!" Pearl sounded only slightly annoyed.

"Aww, but I'm starving!" Amethyst said, her voice sounding overdramatically sad.

"Oh, that's just literally impossible!" Pearl cringed her lips. "Just wait a minute and..."

"Gimme!" Amethyst tried to grab the basket from her again, but the gesture and her tone were playful. With a little gasp, Pearl raised it above her head and walked faster, nearing the two sitting kids. Steven and Connie laughed, entertained by the situation.

Peridot looked back. Garnet walked behind them silently, observing the scene with the corner of her lips curved up slightly. As Peridot had come to realize, the usually stern fusion showed her emotions almost as much as the rest of the Crystal Gems. With her, it was more about paying attention to the little details.

Peridot looked up. The sun was about to reach its highest point on the Earth's sky, which meant it was about twelve. She was getting awfully good at calculating time based on Earth's sun. She noticed Pearl placing the basket in the middle of the mantle and saw the gem extract numerous objects from inside it, much to Steven and Connie's pleasure. Despite her remarks, Amethyst waited patiently, laying down on her back with her hands crossed under her head, right next to the mantle.

Steven started talking excitedly about the contents of the basket, but Peridot barely heard him. Her curiosity brought her attention to the object she'd noticed Pearl watching before. She couldn't help feeling a lot more interested in it once she looked at it more carefully. Long and slender forms were coming out of its center. Long and slender forms that were partially covered by little... Leaves? Peridot's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what the object really was. Earth's vegetation'd never looked so deceiving.

"Peridot..?" She turned around, slightly surprised by Pearl's voice. The rest of the group was now sitting in a circle around the basket. And everyone was looking at her.

"Huh..? I..! It's a plant!" She pointed at the object. "Isn't it..?" She couldn't help blushing slightly, and some of the group smiled when they noticed.

"Yup!" Steven, with his mouth half full of bread, said. "It's Pearl's favorite tree! Or it was... Until it was cut down..." His voice hinted a little sadness, but it was quickly replaced by excitement as a smile came to his face. "But now it's growing back!" He swallowed and stood up. Amethyst said something to Pearl, Connie laughed and the attention of the group rerouted again to the conversation around the basket. Meanwhile, Steven walked up to Peridot and kneeled down next to the tree stump.

"See these branches?" Peridot observed as he caressed them carefully. "They'll eventually grow up and become a new tree!" He smiled sweetly as he spoke. "It will take some time, but if we take care of it properly, it'll come back, even more beautiful!" Peridot blinked twice. Without thinking, she kneeled down and carefully ran a finger over one of the branches. "That's why this is my favorite picnic spot!" He finished.

Peridot understood then why he was feeling so excited. "What... Happened to it?" She asked.

"Well..." Steven smiled apologetically. "It was kind of my fault..." Peridot looked at him, slightly surprised. "I could tell you the story if you like..."

Peridot looked at the rest of the group. They were all having fun. "Maybe some other time." Steven nodded, smiling. Peridot stood up. "Remind me again why we are here, please?" Steven stood up too.

"Huh? Well... We've worked hard lately. This was kind of a bumpy week." He unconsciously ran his hand over a little scar on his forehead, the result of the battle in the cave. "We deserve some time to have fun too, don't you think?"

Peridot nodded. She was about to speak, when Amethyst's voice interrupted her.

"Hey, P-dot! You gonna get in on this sandwiches?" She was smiling and handing her one of the said "sandwiches". Peridot didn't look too excited upon the perspective of eating, but she made no comment as she walked up to her and grabbed it. She sat down next Amethyst, and Steven sat next to her.

"Two slices of soft bread filled with fresh jelly and creamy peanut butter." Steven talked with a voice heavily filled with emotion, making Connie giggle in the process. Pearl rolled her eyes, but smiling, she handed Steven another sandwich. He raised it to the sun and continued to talk. "Oh, there has never been such a simple yet perfectly delicious food in the history of mankind!" And quickly, he bit it with pleasure. Connie was still laughing.

Peridot looked at the object in her hand with a new respect. She took a bite out of it.

"You're overselling it, Steven." Garnet warned him. Her words had no effect, however, as they were quickly followed by a sound of pleasure coming from Peridot's mouth. Slightly surprised, everyone looked at her. She didn't seem to notice, as she was enjoying her sandwich with her eyes closed.

"Steven!" She spoke while chewing, making Pearl slightly uncomfortable. "You weren't kidding! This is perfectly delicious!" She smiled as she took another bite, making more sounds of pleasure. Steven smiled widely.

"Of course I wasn't! You should try juice next!" He took a juicebox out of the basket and handed it to her. Amethyst looked at Garnet and smiled teasingly. The latter shrugged her shoulders and grabbed a sandwich too.

~~~

They finished the food, chatting happily, until the conversation turned to a much slower pace. They ended up being somewhat divided in three groups; Steven, Connie and Peridot, still sitting on the blanket; Garnet and Pearl, who had stood up and were now standing in front of the tree stump, talking quietly; and Amethyst, who was laying down on the grass next to the blanket, apparently sound asleep.

Steven had started to play the ukulele with a slow and soft touch that reminded Peridot of Greg's guitar. Connie was humming along to the tune, when an idea occurred to Steven.

"We should write a song!" He said, suddenly.

"Steven, that's a great idea!" Connie agreed almost immediately. Peridot, in the other hand, raised an eyebrow.

" 'Write' a song?" She said. "How exactly do you... 'write' a song?" She asked with curiosity. Steven continued to play his instrument as he answered.

"It's simple! You just... Follow the music, and sing about whatever you're thinking, or about how you feel."

His answer didn't ease Peridot's doubts completely. "That IS exceedingly simple." She said, still raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that's what's fun about it." He smiled widely. "Wanna try?"

"Me..?" She was surprised by his suggestion.

"Sure! Just go for it!" He changed the music he was playing to a completely new one. Connie and him were looking at her expectantly, and even Garnet and Pearl gave paused their conversation for a brief moment. Peridot swallowed thickly, slightly nervous under everyone's stare. She decided that, if she was going to do it, it was better to ignore their eyes. As such, she closed hers.

"A song about what I'm thinking." She murmured. Steven kept playing. "About how I feel."

How did she feel? What was she thinking? The song Steven was playing was peaceful and beautiful. Like Earth, the thought assaulted her, like them. She could only think of one thing. The thought that had been on her mind ever since Peridot asked her the question back on Rose's garden. She opened her eyes.

"If I could begin to be..." Her words aligned naturally to the music. "Half of what you think of me..."

Steven's face lit up in amusement, but Peridot didn't notice. She didn't notice everyone, even Amethyst, who was now awake, staring at her either, although her eyes were on them as she sang.

"I could do about anything..." Peridot's words were no longer hers. She wasn't thinking anymore, she was just letting her feelings express themselves. "I could even learn how to love like you."

Steven was almost hypnotized by her voice. Guided by a hunch, he changed the tune to a more fast one. To that point, Peridot wasn't looking at them anymore.

"I always thought I might be bad..." Her eyes were shut. On her mind, the scene repeated again and again. The sound of the fountain, the breeze on the leaves. Pearl's question under the shadow of the statue. "Now I'm sure that it's true..." The intense silence that followed her question. The moment she pronounced the word that changed it all. "Cause I think you're so good, and I'm nothing like you..."

She'd said yes.

Peridot opened her eyes. Steven kept playing, everyone kept looking at her, but she was unable to sing a single word more. Eventually, he stopped playing. Only after she stopped singing she noticed there were tears on her cheeks. She proceeded to wipe them with her bare hands, suddenly feeling vulnerable. Nobody found it inside them to say a word and break the silence. Steven, however, quietly put the ukulele on the floor and sat next to Peridot. He hugged her, and Peridot hugged him back, founding shelter on the embrace. Connie, with tears of her own on her cheeks, joined the hug too. She was followed by Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet. Soon, Peridot was under the hug of every other Crystal Gem, and there, she knew she'd taken the right decision.

Earth was her home. She loved it, and she was going to protect it.

~~~

Hatred boiled in the sea. It awaited, for its chance to find freedom. To unleash upon them the wrath it had stored during its captivity. If only the oceans weren't so heavy... But it would wait. It had no hurries. It was just a matter of time. And, although it didn't know, its time was close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Alternative Universe we are now! Steven's Birthday Bomb is best Steven Bomb, Btw. Canon Peridemption, heck the world!
> 
> An important note! The idea of Peridot singing "Love like you." Is not originally mine. It's actually based on a comic by Qwilman (Matt). You can find him on Tumblr, go show him some love if you liked it!
> 
> About the one month hiatus... I'm not putting up excuses, but the reality is that, for personal reasons, I found myself unable to write. I really hope you guys are not too mad at me. Heck, I left for so long that I was afraid I'd be too ashamed to come back. I'm serious, I feel terrible about it. But hopefully you'll find it inside you to forgive me, or at least to put up with it for the sake of this story. As things are, it looks like I'm back for good. Unfortunately, I'm also back on college, so next chapter might take longer than a week. Still, you have my word that I'll try my best.
> 
> I believe this chapter concludes the 'Redmption Arc'. Peridot has come a long way, but she's a better gem now. If you're wondering what next chapter will be about, well, you had some not so subtle foreshadowing right at the end of this one. Haha.
> 
> That's it for now guys! As always, Please let me know what you think about this chapter and the overall story. Kudos and bookmarks are always much appreciated and I thank you for all you comments and support. Until next time, Regularperifan out.


	10. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm is coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, hold it there, fellar! Do you know how fast you were going? It seems I'll have to write you a chapter of "Peridot has a nice(?) day(?)". I expect that this doesn't repeat, are we clear?
> 
> ...
> 
> I spent the last three months coming up with that joke.

It approached its target slowly, almost doubtfully, changing direction a couple of times before actually finding it. As soon as it did, however, the little red ant grabbed the crumb with its tiny jaws. It picked it up with ease, despite the bread crumb being almost half the ant's size. It immediately turned around and started walking in the exact direction it'd come from. It wasn't walking doubtfully this time; it already had fulfilled its objective. Trouble was in the way, however. Trouble in the form of a bigger and darker ant. 

The newcomer approached the smaller ant walking quickly, almost menacingly. The red ant was being slowed down by its load and had no chance of fleeing or even getting out of the way. As soon as it was close enough, the bigger ant revealed its wicked intentions. It used its jaws to grab the crumb and started pulling, trying to steal it away from its legitimate owner. There was a struggle, as the red ant didn't want to give up its price, but the bigger ant was stronger, and it started winning terrain rather quickly. With each pull, it moved not only the crumb, but the other ant with it. The red ant was trying its best, but it was simply not enough. It was fighting a lost battle. Finally, Peridot couldn't stand witnessing such injustice any longer.

"Shoo! Go away!" She wasn't sure on how to intervene, so she waved her hand at the mean ant, trying to get it to leave. It was pointless. The ant ignored her and continued its ruthless assault. Peridot hummed angrily. "Leave it alone! There's enough for both of you!" She grabbed the dark ant from the back of its body using only two fingers and raised it from the ground. She did it carefully, trying not to squish it. For a moment, it seemed like the dark ant would be able to pull the bread crumb and the other ant from the ground, but it ended up letting go of the crumb. "Aha!" Peridot exclaimed triumphantly. "Gotcha!" And for a moment, it seemed like it. However, she was forced to release the ant when a sudden pain coursed through her finger, making her emit a little squeal. The ant fell to the ground and fled, forgetting about the red ant and its price. Peridot was surprised and confused as the ants both ran in different directions, leaving her behind with nothing but a stinging pain in her finger. She looked at it, trying to find the source, but saw nothing unusual on her skin. The pain didn't go away, and she was starting to worry when she heard a voice calling her from the front of the barn. It was Steven, and he sounded like he was coming.

"Coming!" She answered. She stood up and quickly crumbled the rest of the bread she was holding in her other hand. She threw all the little pieces on the ground, shaking her hands to get rid of the crumbs, just as Steven walked around the corner to see her.

"Hey! It's time to..." He didn't finish speaking, realizing almost immediately that something odd was going on. Peridot was frozen in place as Steven evaluated the situation with a raised eyebrow and his mouth still half open. He looked at her, and then at the bread remains on the ground. "Whaaaaatcha doing...?" He asked.

"Nothing!" Peridot answered in a somewhat high pitched voice. "What are you doing?" For some reason, her question sounded like an accusation. She crossed her arms behind her back, making an effort to play it cool.

"I was just about to tell you..." Steven said. One more time, he directed his eyes to the bread on the ground and to a Peridot that was trying really hard not to look suspicious. "We're about to leave."

"Oh... I-Is that so?" Peridot cleared her throat, trying to normalize her voice. "Go ahead then. I'll stay and work tonight."

Steven seemed surprised by her answer. "Huh? You're staying again?"

Peridot started walking towards the front of the barn and Steven walked with her. "Yes." Was her simple answer.  
The sun was going down, tinting everything around them in a soft orange color. "You sure you don't want to come hang out?" Steven said. "We can make hot cocoa..." His attempt to tempt her with the warm beverage hit really close to home, but Peridot forced herself to resist it with stoic demeanor.

"Sorry Steven. It's not negotiable. I've got things to do." They arrived at the front of the barn as she spoke. The other gems were already in the car, whose engine had already been started, waiting for the two of them.

"Oh..." Steven seemed downhearted. "There's no need, you know? Garnet still hasn't seen anything with her future vision..."

"Right. Future vision." Peridot thought. The permafusion's innate ability to see possible outcomes to the future had been quite a revelation to Peridot. It explained a lot of the Crystal Gem's success, having among their team a powerful and rare Sapphire. As she thought about it, she realized "their team" was now her team too. The mere thought sent a chill through her back, like every single time it came to mind. Her thoughts were interrupted by Pearl's voice, coming from the pilot seat of the car.

"You're staying overnight?" Pearl said, surprised. She then proceeded to unstrap the unnecessary seatbelt from around her body. "You should've said so! I'll stay and help too!"

"Wait, what?" From the back of the car, Amethyst sounded surprised too. "Who do you think is gonna drive this thing?" 

"I could probably do it." Garnet pointed out, sitting comfortably next to Amethyst with a smile that looked almost cocky.

"That won't be necessary!" Peridot exclaimed. Everyone looked at her. "I... Appreciate the offer, but I won't be working on the drill tonight." Her words were mostly directed to Pearl, but everyone else was listening too. The implied message was clear; she'd work on her tools. There wasn't much that anyone could do to help her if that was the case.

Pearl nodded in understanding. "Very well then. Let's go, Steven."

The boy still looked rather uncheerful, but he smiled at Peridot before getting inside the car. "See you tomorrow! I'll bring you some cocoa." Peridot smiled back as the kid walked away. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something important.

"Oh, and Steven!" The boy, who was already in the car, looked at her with attention. Peridot hesitated a little before speaking. "I... Would like to know... For research purposes...!" Steven raised an eyebrow. "If one tiny Earth creature bites you... Is it... Dangerous?" She finished the question and almost immediately regretted asking. Everyone was looking at her with wide, curious eyes.

"Say what now?" Steven asked.

"Nevermind! See you tomorrow, bye!" Peridot turned around too quickly not to look suspicious, and walked into the barn in a hurry. Inside the car, Pearl looked at Steven interrogatively. The latter simply shrugged his shoulders.

From inside the barn, Peridot observed them drive away. The stinging feeling in her finger had already started to wear off, so she took her mind out of it. She breathed deeply, taking a moment before closing the barn door. The sunlight was barely enough to help her see at that point, so she lit her way with the light of her very own gem.

~~~

Over the next couple of hours, Peridot was disconnected from reality. She let the thrills and fears that were almost always at the back of her mind go away, and dumped herself completely in the rewarding joy of working. The floor of the barn was soon filled with screws, tools and little pieces of machinery that, to a casual observer, would look rather messy. But upon closer observation, it could be noted that there was a very specific order to the placement of every little object, a system. Peridot liked order, but her approach to it was rather pragmatic. "Put it wherever it's useful." Was her way to summarize it.

Peridot spent the first hours of the night going over her old designs, trying to identify flaws and improving them in every way possible. She had to rebuild the ones lost at her first battle with Amethyst. This time, she made sure the new ones had cover some of the weaknesses she'd spotted during their first field test. In the end, she'd even managed to give them a nicer finish. It seemed like a pointless effort at first, but she really liked the way they looked. After finishing with them, she started using the chalkboard, filling it with future designs and ideas.

Outside, the night was dark and silent. The sky was covered with a thick layer of clouds, and although there was no sign of rain, the moon wasn't there to provide light. Around midnight, Peridot was standing outside the barn. Complete darkness was engulfing her, and yet she had her eyes closed. For a moment, the night continued, and her figure standing alone and motionless could've gone unnoticed for any passerby. And then, suddenly, a bright light came out her gem. In the darkness, the light glowed blindingly. It probably didn't last more than a few seconds, and still, as soon as the light disappeared and the darkness returned, Peridot mumbled:

"Too slow." She was now holding in her hand her tape recorder, that she'd just pulled out of her gem.

One of Pearl's first advice after her newly discovered fighting method had been to improve 'transportation'. Meaning that, although the backpack had been very useful during her battle, Pearl'd also considered it to be a weakness.

"You lost it at one point." Pearl'd said. They'd been at the Sky Arena, sword fighting. "Without it, you didn't have your weapons. You were defenseless." Pearl's words had been tough, but realistic. Peridot appreciated that. "In a real battle, that would have been your end." Pearl had been going easy on her, but at that moment, she'd started to speed up her attacks. Peridot was having trouble defending herself against her quick and precise blows, but she still managed to stop each one.

"I know..." Each hit was so hard, it made it difficult to speak. Pearl wasn't kidding around. "But... it's quicker... that way..." At that moment, she'd managed to predict one of Pearl's movements, and launched a preventive strike that gained her some terrain. 

"Is it?" Although she didn't show it, Pearl had been impressed by Peridot's defense. She'd been going with everything she'd got for a while then, and she still hadn't find an opening on her defense. "The way I see it, only when you don't need a backpack or any other thing like it, you'll truly not depend on anything but yourself."

Peridot didn't quite remember how that battle, just one of many others, had ended, but she did remember Pearl's advice. Ever since that time, she'd been practicing to summon objects from her gem, trying to improve her speed. It was tricky, because the only thing she could do was trying harder to be faster. She'd even monitored the amount of time it took her to search and summon a specific object from inside her gem, but until that moment, practice had hardly made any difference. Still, that was just the beginning, and she was not willing to give it up easily.

That night, although she didn’t measure her time, she was sure it hadn't been fast enough. Not fast enough for an ambush, or a battle that required switching quickly between multiple items. 

Peridot sighed and sat down on the bare ground. She looked at the recorder in her hand and, after a moment, she pressed the button to start recording.

"Log date, 716." A moment of silence followed her words. It felt like forever since the last time she'd made a log. "It's been seven Earth rotational cycles, the period of time otherwise known as a week, since I officially joined the Crystal Gems." She made a pause. "The only one that knows about it is my teacher, Pearl. She's made no mention of it to the others. I guess she's waiting for me to take the first step." She suddenly realized how cold the night was, and hugged her knees with her arm. "They deserve to know. I just don't know if I'm ready to say it out loud yet..." Once again, she made a pause. "I've done much progress tonight." She decided to change the subject. "I've successfully improved the old versions of my equipment and designed what will be my next prototypes. Pearl expressed her surprise upon discovering each of my gadgets is based on the abilities I've seen them display." The thought made her smile. "Next, I'll attempt to create a gem destabilizer using human technology and spare parts from my escape pod. It shouldn't be too difficult to attempt. Thus far, my only major concern is the lack of a reliable power source..."

Suddenly, silence. Her words ended abruptly. Peridot paid attention to the sounds of the night. Everything had been completely silent except from her voice, but just a moment before, she'd heard the sound of footsteps on the ground nearby. It had been just a moment, and the sound had been so light, that she was about to dismiss her suspicions as a false alarm, when the sound repeated. Closer this time, approaching her from the right. Her mind raced with thoughts as she lit up the night with a stream of green light coming from her gem. She pointed it in the direction of the footsteps, and yelled:

"Who's there?!" The light revealed a pair of shiny eyes fixed on her, surrounded by pink hair.

"Oh. It's just you..." Peridot said, sounding mildly annoyed.

Lion remained motionless, observing her with attention. Peridot looked back at him for a moment before ending the stream of light, returning to darkness. In the night's silence, she could still hear Lion's breathing.

Steven's 'pet', Lion, was a mystery to Peridot, and, oddly enough, it seemed to be a mystery to everyone else. The first time she saw him, Peridot thought he was just another example of the strange fauna that inhabited the Earth. Soon she'd discover that he was far more than meets the eye, but that first time, she'd felt oddly afraid of him. Of course she never would have admitted it, but something in the way the creature looked at her was... unsettling. He wouldn't do anything special, not even trying to get her attention, but still... Each time he was close to her, his big eyes just seemed to follow her everywhere as she tried to focus on working on the drill or any other activity. 

In the end, however, just as with rain, food and many other things on Earth, she'd become accustomed to his presence. Lion was a silent companion, much different from the rest of the gems. He'd just stay there, laying down, looking at her, flickering his ears now and then. He never showed any signs of hostility towards her, and she reciprocated. And when Steven explained where he found him, furthermore, the mystery that was where he actually came from, Peridot grew curious. He looked like an animal, but everything about him pointed to a form of intelligent inorganic life. She tried finding out more about him by asking each one of the gems, and, as a last resource, Lion himself. None of the first three knew a thing more than Steven, and the last one just looked at her for a moment, closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep. Ever since that failed attempt, Peridot had given the mystery a rest. She had no way of finding out more, but she'd wait patiently. Eventually, some more information would have to pop. Lion would still regularly approach her to see her work, looking at her from a safe distance. Except for that night, when she was sure she'd heard his steps yet another time.

Peridot lit up the night one more time, just to find Lion's face really close to her own. "Argh!" The sound escaped her mouth as she stood up, too startled to use coherent speech. Lion stopped moving again, and watched her freak out for a brief moment instead. Peridot realized her reaction had been a little embarrassing and blushed, thankful that no one was there to see it. No one but Lion, at least. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the pink furry creature.

"So now you are just trying to scare me, out of nowhere?" The creature blinked. Peridot cringed her lips. "Is it too cold out here for you? Maybe you want to get inside...?" She suggested. The creature blinked one more time, but showed no other reaction. Peridot sighed. At that moment, she realized she hadn't stopped recording through the whole scene. "Peridot, Facet Five, end log." She said, automatically, before ending the log and putting the tape recorder inside her gem.

Peridot opened the barn's door. She still had a few hours before the other's arrival, and she'd try to make them count. Before entering, however, she directed her eyes to Lion. "So? Do you want to get in?" The creature looked at her for a moment longer, then turned his head to the open door, and then again to her. Much to Peridot's surprise, he started walking, but not towards the barn as suggested, but directly in her direction instead. With time, Peridot had learned not to fear the pink creature, but she'd never been so close to him. And now Lion was getting even closer. "W-Wait!" She walked backwards inside the barn, raising her arms defensively. "B-Bad Lion! Don't..." Walking backwards and distracted by the approaching Lion, she forgot about the floor full of screws, machines and tools. As a result, she tripped and fell backwards on her butt.

"Ouch!" The light pain distracted her momentarily from Lion, so when she directed her eyes at the creature again, it was a pretty terrifying experience. His face was so close to hers, that she could feel his breath on her cheeks. She couldn't help emitting a quiet "Eep!" as she looked directly into Lion's eyes, that shined hypnotically under the green light. For a moment, they both stayed motionless; Peridot, waiting for Lion's reaction; and Lion, guided by his own mysterious will. In the end, it was Lion the one who broke their non-agreed staring contest. With an almost delicate movement, he bent his knees and dropped to the ground. The green gem observed him incredulously, her eyes growing wider as Lion rested his big furry head on her lap, closing his eyes.

Peridot didn't dare moving. The whole scene seemed unbelievable to her. She'd never seen Lion acting that way with any of the other gems besides Steven, and still, there he was, apparently pretty comfortable with his head sitting on her lap. He was warm, almost hot, and in the cold night, his temperature resulted rather pleasant. Still feeling inside a dream, Peridot raised her hand with caution, guided almost solely by instinct, and caressed Lion's head with just the tip of her fingers. His fur was as soft as she could've imagined. "This is happening. This is... Nice." She realized, as a pleasant smile made its way to her face. She continued to rub his head, more confidently at that point, and Lion continued to show no reaction upon her actions. He just lay there, letting Peridot amuse herself with the softness of his fur, breathing peacefully.

And then, all of the sudden, Lion stood up. It was such a quick and unexpected movement, that Peridot kept a silly smile on her face for a moment before realizing what had happened. As soon as she did, her expression turned into one of strangeness. "Now what?" She said, half surprised and half annoyed by losing the chance to pet him a little longer. Lion had already moved away from his position, and was now nowhere to be seen.

Peridot looked for Lion in the dark room, and found him looking directly at a wall. She'd been surprised before, but at that point, she was just plain confused. "Wha...?" She stood up and walked up to the creature. "Just what is the matter with you...?" She said annoyed, looking at the wall that was the center of Lion's attention. Nothing but a normal wall, at least in appearance, was revealed to her eyes. "Hey...!" She waved her hand in front of Lion's face. He didn't move a single muscle. Peridot hummed angrily. "Why do you always have to be this hermetic, huh? I know you understand every word I say!" It was true, Lion rarely obeyed any of Steven's commands, but when he did, he could execute them with a precision that left no doubts of his capacity to understand him. Still, just as that night, he rarely showed any reaction to anyone's words.

At that moment, annoyed by Lion's reluctance to pay attention to her, Peridot did something she'd soon regret; she stood in front of Lion, directly between him and the wall he was staring at. "Well ignore me then, you pink clod! See if I care!" She failed to see the irony of her words as she had purposefully stepped in front of him as she spoke. Peridot turned her back on him in a gesture of supreme annoyance that left her facing the wall. Although she soon realized that probably hadn't been a smart idea, she'd no time to think about it.

What happened next, from Peridot's perspective, was both extremely confusing and surprising. She didn't get to see anything, but she did feel Lion's head pressing suddenly right below her knees. The feeling made her squeal, but her squeal soon turned into a scream of surprise as Lion pushed her legs with his head, making her fall backwards, directly onto the creature's mane. Peridot waved her arms in the air in a desperate effort to maintain balance, but it was useless. She expected to feel Lion's soft mane stopping her fall, but she never came to touch it. Instead, she was surrounded by a soft white light, and she felt even more confused as her fall lasted way longer than it should have.

In the barn, silence reigned after Peridot's scream ended in the most abrupt way possible. A moment after Peridot fell inside Lion's mane, the creature roared. A portal opened directly in front of him, in the wall he'd been looking at. When he disappeared through it, the barn was left empty, dark and silent.

~~~

Since Peridot's arrival to Earth, she'd been through some pretty odd and new experiences: from the smaller ones, like eating, sleeping, or being hugged, to the life changing ones, like discovering her own feelings or consciously deciding to abandon her hopes of returning to Homeworld. Even so, what followed was probably the most unsettling one, just out of how unexplainable it was for her. The first things she'd come to remember clearly about it were that she fell for more than she expected, and that when she 'landed' it was more like... Emerging. Light surrounded her, when not so long ago she'd been in almost complete darkness. It took her some trouble to open her eyes to so much light, and when she did, she found she was no longer at the barn.

It was too much for Peridot to process, so all she could do was look around, with her mouth half open and a completely amazed expression on her face. She was standing in the middle of an open field, surrounded by a vast extension of a plant she'd never seen before. There was no wind, but the vegetation still moved like it was being caressed by a light breeze. Peridot looked up. The sky was full of clouds and the sun was nowhere to be seen, so the light that filled the place seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Everything, even the clouds and the vegetation, was pink. Peridot fixed her attention on the only thing that broke the monotony of the scenery; a tree, standing alone on a small hill. Only at that moment Peridot realized something else: the place was absolutely silent. She tried speaking, but no sound came out her mouth. The absolute lack of noise was surprisingly peaceful, and yet oddly unsettling.

Still almost sure that the whole night had been nothing but a dream, Peridot took a step forward in direction to the lone tree, which seemed to be the only thing around. Her foot didn't get to touch the ground. Suddenly, she was falling again. The ground swallowed Peridot as she screamed in surprise, although no sound could be heard. This time, when the fall ended, she did touch the ground.

By the moment she was propelled out of Lion's mane, Peridot was completely and utterly lost. Nothing seemed to make sense, as she was now laying on the floor of what she quickly identified as the beach house. Specifically, the floor in front of Steven's bed. Confused and dazzled, Peridot stood up, looking angrily for the responsible. The pink culprit was right in front of her, staring at her nonchalantly, which only fueled Peridot's anger.

"What was all that?!" She barked. "I can't believe you just...!" She interrupted her words, as she came to realization that, at that time of the night, Steven was probably sound asleep. She lowered her voice, trying not to wake the kid up, but still too mad to keep her words to herself. "I can't believe you... You... I don't even know what you did! Why did you drag me here?!" She whispered. Loyal to his habits, Lion showed no reaction upon her words. Instead, he turned his back on her, and jumped onto Steven's bed with a graceful movement. "What are you doing?!" Peridot watched in surprise as Lion performed his jump. "You are going to wake him up!" She said, still whispering.

If Steven hadn't been awoken by that point, he certainly would once Lion started walking on his bed to approach his head laying on a pillow. Or at least that was Peridot's thinking. However, even after Lion was so close to the laying figure that his breath moved Steven's hair, the boy didn't wake up. Peridot walked up to the bed, determined to put an end to Lion's rampage. "Alright you! Enough!" Peridot stood next to the bed and talked to the pink beast. "You tricked me in order to drag me here, and I want a reason!" Lion's ears flickered, but no other reaction could be seen. He was looking steadfastly at Steven's face. The boy was still clearly asleep. Peridot had to make an effort to keep her voice down despite her anger. "Don't pretend you're not listening. Explain yourself...!" Her words were interrupted by a low whimper. Surprised, Peridot looked at Steven. Under the green light, the kid complained one more time, still with his eyes closed. His expression, unlike the other times she'd seen him sleep, was not very peaceful. "What the...?" Peridot forgot all about Lion for a moment, as she took a closer look at the sleeping kid. Steven whimpered lowly yet another time. "Is he having a nightmare?" She murmured. Lion growled at her words, which got Peridot's attention. The green gem looked at him. "Is this why you brought me here?" She asked, still sounding a little mad. The pink creature looked at her and blinked once. Peridot took that as a yes.

"He's just dreaming. A nightmare can't hurt him." She explained, sounding condescending without noticing. Lion narrowed his eyes, a gesture that made Peridot feel awkward, wondering if her explanation had been too obvious. "Well, it's true..." She blushed lightly as she spoke avoiding Lion's gaze. "There's nothing I can do about it..." Lion growled again, lower this time. Peridot looked at the creature curiously. "So? There isn't." Lion growled lowly one more time. He looked at her with expecting eyes. Peridot cringed her lips lightly before speaking. "So you think there is something I can do?" Lion stared at her. Peridot noticed the lack of a growl after her words, and sighed. "Well, at least now we are making progress." Peridot crossed her arms. "Maybe... You want me to wake him up?" Lion growled. "Right, you could do that on your own." Peridot hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps the others might know how to help..." Yet again, Lion growled.

Peridot couldn't help sounding annoyed. "Well, I'm all out of ideas." Lion's eyes narrowed, making Peridot feel uncomfortable again. "Don't look at me like that! Why is this so important anyway?" His eyes shined under the green light, mysterious and unreadable. Peridot felt frustrated. "Why don't you try something, huh?" She said as she sat on the bed's edge. "It seems you know more than me about this pointless mission." As soon as she finished speaking, a big paw reached from behind her back, pressed on her chest, and pushed her to lie down on the bed. A quiet noise of surprise escaped Peridot's lips. She was now laying on the bed with Lion's paw still pressing on her chest, and the fear that the pink creature evoked on her returned all of the sudden. Peridot clenched her fists and cringed with her eyes closed, waiting for Lion's final blow. Nothing happened however, and she came to realize that Lion's paw on her chest, while firm, was not putting any pressure on her. Finally, Peridot opened her eyes to look up at the pink creature. Lion's eyes were still unreadable, but there was nothing menacing about them. As such, she relaxed. 

"You're unbelievable." She reproached him. He blinked once. Next to her, Steven mumbled a couple of unintelligible words. "Now what?" For all response, Lion closed his eyes, which made Peridot narrow hers. She attempted to move Lion's paw from her chest, but it was useless; it didn't budge, and Lion didn't even open his eyes. Peridot sighed, tired of not understanding anything. She looked to her side, where Steven rested his head. "How come you're not awake?" She murmured. A lot had happened since her unexpected arrival at the beach house, and it hadn't been all that quiet. Steven's expression looked tense, but his eyes were firmly closed. "Fine! I give up!" Lion opened his eyes to look at her. "I don't know why you brought me here or what you want from me, I don't understand a single thing, and I don't care." With those words, she crossed her hands and closed her eyes, putting an end to the stream of light coming from her gem. Peridot only intended to make it clear that she was done trying to help Lion, but in the dark and laying on the soft bed, she found herself being surprisingly comfortable. Lion closed his eyes too, and silence returned to the room, broken only by the sound of the three of them breathing and, occasionally, Steven's mumbled whimpers.

Peridot didn't notice when she fell asleep, but Lion did. Once she her breathing turned peaceful and regular, he opened his eyes to watch the two figures sleep side by side.

~~~

She was woken by the sound of thunder. Peridot gasped in surprise as she sat up. Feeling drowsy, it took her a moment to remember her situation. "Steven!" She looked at the place where the boy'd been sleeping and realized the bed was, except for her, empty; Lion wasn't there either. Outside, rain crashed furiously against the roof and the walls of the house.

Peridot felt lost. She didn't remember seeing any sign of rain before, and yet, at that moment there was a storm stronger than any other she'd ever witnessed. A thunder exploded in the sky as a flash of light entered through the window, startling Peridot. "Steven...? Anyone?" She called louder this time, but even then she could barely hear herself over the sound of the storm. As such, nobody answered. 

Peridot stood up from the bed as a feeling of discomfort grew stronger in her chest. The whole place seemed darker than before, even after she lit up her way with her gem. Another thunder resonated outside, and Peridot crossed her arms over her chest, tightly hugging herself. "It's OK..." She thought. "There's nothing to be afraid of... It's just a storm. Steven explained what that is. But just where is everybody?" She walked downstairs looking for any of the others, but it appeared she was alone in the house. As she looked around, something caught her attention. And, although she certainly thought it was against all logic, she approached the front door.

At the other side, raindrops pelted furiously against it and the wind howled with a frightening sound. But what'd really gotten her attention was looking outside, into the night. Peridot had never seen anything as dark as what was outside that door. She tried to distinguish anything, but the stream of light coming from her gem was simply swallowed by the darkness, and didn't reveal a thing. Then, a lightning lit the insides of the house right before another thunder. The darkness outside remained undisturbed. Peridot felt a chill run through her entire body. There was something unnatural out there, hiding in the dark. Something menacing. Peridot walked backwards in horror, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the unknown that lay behind that door.

"What is all this?" She murmured. She could feel the fear invading her body, and had to make an effort to keep her cool. "There has to be an explanation for this..." She said, trying to reassure herself, but there was no confidence in her words.

Walking backwards as she was, Peridot stepped on something cold. She looked down to find her foot over a strange object, one she'd never seen before, and picked it up, curious. It was round in shape, but it had a handle coming from it. In its center, lay a gem. Peridot tightened her grip on the handle of the object, as a cold feeling stroke her chest. She recognized the gem immediately. Anxious, she turned the object around. Only when a stream of green light came out of it, blinding her momentarily, she realized. It was a mirror.

~~~

The boy was shivering. The darkness he was in was cold, and his pajamas just weren't enough to protect him. He couldn't remember how long he'd been in there, but it felt like days. An infinite time of emptiness, nothing but cold and darkness. And silence. He'd yelled at the darkness at first, hoping to get an answer, only to verify what he'd already imagined. He was alone. Floating in the void, he'd tried to remain positive. But he'd felt fear, and he'd even wonder if he'd end up losing hope too. And then, the green light appeared out of nowhere.

It divided the darkness and reached to him, forcing him to close his eyes. Although it was painful at first, happiness and hope grew in his heart with it. At the very least it was a change. He looked directly at the green light with narrow eyes and yelled:

"Hello?! Is someone there?!" A tiny part of him was terrified of the chance of not being heard. Maybe the light would just go away, ignoring him, returning him to the awful darkness. And for a moment, it seemed like it would. But then, another voice broke the silence, and he smiled as tears of happiness formed in the corners of his eyes.

"Steven...?" 

He recognized the voice in a heartbeat.

"Peridot! I-It's me!" He couldn't believe it. It was her! He tried to look past the green light, but it was too intense.  
"What, in the name of… What is this... This thing?!" Peridot sounded scared, Steven realized. "Hold on, I'm just going to..." The intensity of the light decreased, only then allowing him to see her. Her face was in the middle of an oval of green light. It was floating in the darkness, not so far from him. At that moment, her eyes widened as she saw him too.

"I...! J-Just... How...?" Peridot blinked repeatedly, confused. "I don't understand..."

Steven was almost too happy to remember his desperate situation, but seeing concern in Peridot's eyes served as the perfect reminder. For the first time in all the experience, he was able to see his limbs, under the green light. He tried to move them in a swimming motion, seeking to get closer to the source of the light, but it didn't work. He was stranded, separated from the oval of light by the void.

"Peridot! Where are you? What is going on out there? How long has it been?" He asked, trying and failing not show the anxiety he was feeling. Peridot took a moment to answer, still clearly confused.

"I'm inside the beach house... It's raining really hard and... I don't know how I got here..." She shook her head, frustrated. "Steven, none of this makes any sense..." Her voice sounded tired and defeated. However, the spark of an idea lit up in her eyes. She drew herself nearer to the oval and asked: "Steven...? What's the last thing you remember?"

"Huh? The last..." He realized until that point, he hadn't asked himself that. "I... Why didn't I think of that...?" His thoughts were confused, sloppy. It took him a moment of effort to remember. When he did, however, things started getting clearer before his eyes. "I went to sleep! We had cocoa, and it was late, and I went to sleep! Quickly! What's the last thing you remember?"

"Me? I..." Peridot closed her eyes, trying to get her thoughts in order. "I was... Lion brought me here... And I was lying on your bed. But I closed my eyes and..."

"Oh! Oh!" The kid yelled, getting her attention. "I got it!" His eyes sparkled as he spoke. It took just a moment for her to tie the ends too. Peridot's lips moved at the same time as his, as their words resonated in unison. 

"It's all a dream!" He yelled.

"It's all a dream..." She sentenced.

~~~

"If it is... Are you even real...?" Peridot bit her lower lip, the revelation hadn't really taken away the strangeness of their situation. When Steven spoke, she'd to pay close attention not to miss any of his words under the sound of the rain.

"I don't really know..." The kid smiled apologetically. "You might be the one who's not real, you know?"

The thought made her laugh, but Steven didn't laugh with her, and she raised an eyebrow. "You're not serious, right?" She smiled nervously, but he only shrugged in response. Peridot's smile died slowly. "I guess we can't really... Know for sure... "

A moment of silence followed. "Hey! How about... How about we pretend we're both real?" He suggested. After a moment, Peridot nodded. "Either way, I'm glad you're here..." He said, smiling again. Peridot cleared her throat, making an effort to dissimulate the slight blush that got to her cheeks.

"So, if that's the case... Is this... Is this a normal 'dream thing'?" She asked. Steven took a moment before answering.

"It's d-definitely not normal, but it's happened before..." Peridot paid close attention. "Funny, the only other time something like this has happened, I dreamed of..." His next word was spoken so lowly, Peridot didn't get to hear it. "Lapis..." Suddenly, suspicion assaulted him. "Peridot...? Where am I...?"

The question resulted odd for Peridot. "Huh? You're inside a... Inside some kind of mirror?" Steven's eyes widened. "Your gem was in the back and..." But the kid had stopped listening, and was now lost in thought.

"I... I think I now who might be behind this..." He said. 

"What do you mean, behind this?" Peridot's eyes narrowed. "And just what is this thing...?" She ran her fingers over the mirror's borders, realizing just then they were neatly decorated with carved figures.

"It's a g-gem artifact..." Steven shivered as he spoke. "It can show images of whatever it's witnessed during its existence... Or it could, if I knew how to do it..." He tried to smile, but it didn't turn out very convincing. "Hey, this is new! A gem thing I know about and y-you don't..." Under the newfound light, he could see his breath forming little clouds of steam. He crossed his arms, hugging himself tightly. 

Peridot noticed the gesture, and her expression turned into a pained one. "You're... Suffering..." She murmured.

"W-What?" He laughed, trying to show a courage that he'd feared he'd lost already. "No, no, I'm fine! I promise! This is n-nothing..." But his words didn't ease Peridot's doubts.

"Who is behind this, Steven?" Her voice was serious this time; her eyes were tough. Steven noticed, and his reply was as serious as hers.

"The only other gem whom I have shared a dream with before is Lapis, Lapis Lazuli." Peridot's eyes widened at his words. "Even more, the first time I saw her... Lapis was trapped inside..."

"A mirror..." Peridot calmly finished his words. "One just like this one..." The memories of her informant's reports came back to her, like echoes from a distant past. Lazuli's backstory was rather extent, and Peridot had studied the reports of it since she was assigned her mission at Earth, but for some reason, at that moment she was finding herself unable to think straight. She shook her head, trying to shrug off the confusing mist that seemed to surround her. "If she's doing this, then..." Her menacing tone and facial expression said it all, and Steven quickly intervened.

"Wait! She wouldn't... S-She would never do something like this...! There has to be an explanation!" He was sure of it. "If only I could speak to her..." His words were followed by a thunder. Peridot raised her eyes from the mirror, and directed them to the front door. She observed it for a moment before speaking.

"I... Think I know where to find... Whoever is behind this. Be it the Lazuli or not." She swallowed thickly.

"You do?" Steven seemed surprised. "Can you... Can you take me there...?"

Peridot looked at the kid's eyes, then at the door again. Whatever lay behind, it frightened her, but no more than seeing Steven shiver inside that artifact, and the possibility of him having to stay in there for even a moment longer. "Positive. I believe so, yes." She took a step forward in direction to the door, only to stop and look at Steven again. "Steven...?" He looked at her, expectantly. "I'll... I'll get you out of here. I promise." After a brief moment of surprise, the boy smiled and nodded.

"I know you will."

Peridot walked to the door, trying to keep her eyes away from the other side. As she put her hand on the knob, she took a deep breath, and then opened it. She stepped through the portal...

~~~

The only thing that allowed her to keep her eyes open despite the rain was her visor, but even with it, it was impossible for her to see anything. The cold wind bit her wet skin, and it was so loud that she could no longer listen to Steven. She looked back, but she couldn't see the beach house anymore. Peridot felt fear, but she forced herself to keep advancing, raising an arm to walk against the wind. For Steven, she thought. 

Thunder and lightning exploded in the sky, in a chaotic symphony that made her tighten her grip on the mirror's handle. There appeared to be nothing out there, nothing but the chaos of the storm. Except, Peridot knew there was something. Something that observed her every step, something that was not happy with her presence. Peridot stopped moving. She stood up tall and spoke to the sky, or rather, to the darkness over her.

"Lazuli!" She yelled, as the cold drops pelted her face. A thunder followed her words. "Whoever you are!" Another thunder, stronger this time. Peridot raised the mirror, pointing Steven in direction to the sky too. The kid spoke, but she was unable to hear him. After his words, however, something around them seemed to change. The rain got thicker, the wind whistled louder, and then, a voice that Peridot mistook for a thunder resonated in the sky.

"Lapis is no more." The words echoed all around them. Flashes of the Lazuli's appearance and voice came to Peridot's mind. The voice she was hearing now was very different. Peridot tried her best to ignore the fear.

"Who are you?!" She yelled. Even in complete darkness, she felt an intense gaze set upon her.

"You are not welcome here." The voice answered over the raging storm. By that point, the wind was so strong, Peridot had to make an effort to keep it from dragging her. "LEAVE!"

Peridot trembled upon the unbearably loud sound, but she didn't back away.

"NO!" She yelled as hard as she could. "Not until you free Steven!"

A feral growl preceded the voice's next words, a sound that frightened Peridot. "He is ours now! OURS!" Suddenly, a burst of wind hit her entire body. Peridot lost balance and fell to the ground, but the only thing she was truly aware of, was the fact that the wind made her drop the mirror.

On her knees, she looked around for it with her hands, but in the absolute darkness, it was pointless. "Steven!" She yelled in desperation.

"This is our revenge!" The voice continued, as another blast of wind hit Peridot, throwing her on her back. "We shall destroy everything the Crystal Gems love!" Peridot was unable to move, pressed against the ground by the unnatural strength of the wind. "For we are hate! We are revenge!" Peridot raised an arm against the sky in an instinctive effort to protect herself.

"I am Malachite!" As she heard the last word, she saw the skies lit up. And, right before the lightning impacted her, she saw their eyes, in the sky, over the storm. She saw madness.

Peridot opened her eyes to reality with a scream stuck in her throat.

~~~

What followed started as a rather surprising experience for Pearl, who was at that moment in the middle of the process of making Steven's breakfast. Working in the kitchen, she saw through the corner of her eye a figure standing up suddenly from Steven's bed. She turned around to look at it in a heartbeat, prepared to see nothing but the kid waking up, but wondering what could possibly have made him do it in such a hurry. Instead, what she saw was Peridot, standing on the bed and looking both confused and startled.

It took her a moment to process the odd situation. Peridot was in the house, when she was supposed to be in the barn. Furthermore, she looked like she'd been sleeping on Steven's bed, which meant she'd probably spent the night there. And now, Peridot had woken up in a very surprising fashion. But even though things where clearly extraordinary by then, they got even more odd.

In awe, Pearl observed how Peridot, after a moment of doubt, threw herself onto the sleeping figured that lay on the bed, presumably, Steven. Pearl frowned, confused by the fast development of the situation and unable to decide exactly what to do next. However, when Peridot started repeating the boy's name in what was clearly an effort to wake him up, what before had been surprising, turned then alarming.

From her position in the living room, Amethyst didn't get to see as much as Pearl. She'd been pretend sleeping on the couch, waiting for the moment to ride the truck to the barn to continue with their boring task. The day ahead didn't promise a lot. As such, when the noise of Peridot's sudden awakening came from the upper floor, Amethyst sat up immediately, surprised yet pleased by the routine breaking incident.

She saw Pearl interrupt her duty and frown in confusion at the sight of whatever was happening upstairs, and that was all it took to get her attention. She stood up quickly and headed for the stairs, happy to find something to distract her from the tedious perspective of another day of work at the drill. It was at that moment that she heard Peridot's voice calling Steven's name. As with Pearl, it took her just a moment to understand how odd the situation was, but still, her thoughts about it were different. Far from being concerned about the reasons why Peridot was inside the house in the first place, or what she was doing then, the thing that got Amethyst's attention the very moment she heard it, was Peridot's voice. Or rather, the feeling behind it.

Amethyst knew Peridot fairly well, and as such, when she hurried upstairs, her face showed a mixture of concern and confusion. Because in Peridot's voice, she recognized fear. The incident was no longer just a novelty.

Upon seeing Amethyst's reaction, Pearl quickly decided to approach the scene too. She dropped the spoon she'd been using before and ran towards the bed. Amethyst was closer, but Pearl was faster, and they both arrived basically at same time. As such, in just a moment, the situation had developed beyond any possible expectation, leaving them confused and unsettled. They were now standing in front of Steven's bed, where they were granted with an odd and alarming scene.

Caught up in the moment as they were, neither Pearl nor Amethyst even thought about Garnet. They didn't notice how the temple's door opened and she entered the room walking silently, just a moment after their arrival upstairs. They didn't see her walk in their direction slowly either, as their eyes were now focused on the bed and the scene happening on it. And Garnet, even if she certainly could see the other two, didn't notice their presence either. Because, although her body was there and nobody could've told the difference, Garnet was not in the room. She was the last one to arrive, she stood behind the other two gems and remained quiet and motionless, her eyes fixed on the scene in front of her, but still unable to see any of it. Because her mind was gone, as it'd been ever since she walked inside the house, lost in the unlimited possibilities that her future vision granted her.

~~~

"Wake up! Steven!" Peridot's eyes were wide open, the fear in her voice was obvious. Nobody intervened, as both Pearl and Amethyst were still unable to comprehend what was happening before their eyes.

"Peridot...?" Amethyst doubtfully asked, failing to prevent her voice from sounding slightly off. "You're kind of freaking us out..."

Peridot didn't show any reaction to her words. At that moment, she grabbed Steven by his shoulders and started shaking him. It was then that Pearl finally decided to take care of the situation.

"Peridot!" She quickly took a step forward and grabbed the green gem's left arm. "Enough! Calm down!" But Peridot didn't let go of Steven. "Peridot!" It was clear then for Pearl that Peridot was far from being aware of her presence. As such, she grabbed her face, firmly but delicately, to make her look directly into her eyes, in an effort to snap her out of her present state of mind. Only then Peridot looked at her, but even so, she only mumbled: "Steven..."

"You have to calm down!" Pearl spoke. Peridot blinked, her eyes showing understanding for the first time. "He's fine..." Pearl's voice was soothing. Peridot looked at the kid again, and then at Pearl. "He's just sleeping..." Peridot remained quiet.

After the first moment of silence in what felt like years, the green gem did something unexpected. In a quick movement, she wrapped her arms around Pearl in a tight hug. Pearl was not prepared for it, and she gasped in surprise at the green gem's sudden showcase of affection. It took her a moment, but soon Pearl reciprocated. "It's going to be fine..." She murmured, still in the dark about what exactly was going to be fine, but wanting to help the green gem calm down anyway. She rubbed Peridot's back, feeling more relaxed at the sight of Peridot stopping her reckless actions. At that moment, however, Peridot talked.

"No..." She said. She tightened her hug on the tall gem for a moment, before breaking it for good. She separated from a confused Pearl and was granted with the vision of the faces of the two gems that were looking at her expectantly. Before speaking, she directed her eyes one more time at Steven. 

"She... They have him..." 

She didn't feel brave enough to look at them directly as she spoke, so she directed her eyes to the floor. Even so, she could still see their expressions of doubt through the corner of her eyes. "They have him trapped..." Saying out loud what she already knew only made it worse. Each word took a big effort of her part. "H-He won't wake up..."

"Peridot, what are you talking about...?" Pearl shook her head, unable to make any sense out of her words. 

At that moment, Amethyst noticed Garnet, standing behind them. She turned around and looked at her with narrow eyes. The fusion was just standing there, and Amethyst wondered how long she'd been doing so. It didn't take her long to notice there was something seriously off about her, as Garnet was completely motionless. "Garnet...?" She asked, but the fusion showed no sign of noticing her question. Alarmed, Amethyst looked at the kid on the bed.

Peridot rubbed her hands nervously. "We shared a dream..." As she started talking, Amethyst took a step forward and, while carefully looking at Peridot, grew closer to Steven. "He was trapped, they... They have him trapped!" Peridot felt a lump in her throat, and closed her eyes as she mentally reproached herself for lacking control over her agitated emotions.

"A dream? Are you talking about a nightmare...? I don't..." Pearl sighed. She was honestly trying not to lose her cool, but Peridot's words were alarming to say the least. The green gem shook her head upon her words. "What do you mean, then? And who is 'they'?"

"Steven...?" Amethyst was now next to the bed. She softly poked the kid in his belly. He didn't show any reaction.

"The fusion..." Peridot swallowed thickly before speaking. "Malachite..." Although no one noticed, Garnet's lips moved in synchrony to Peridot's, pronouncing the word with her.

As soon as she heard the name, Pearl's eyes widened in horror. She quickly took a step forward and grabbed Peridot by her shoulders, startling the short gem. "Malachite?" Peridot nodded. "You were on a shared dream with Steven and Malachite!" Peridot nodded again, unable to pronounce a single word.

"Steven, this isn't funny man..." Amethyst was not paying attention to the other two. She was now trying hard to wake Steven up, but like Peridot's, her efforts were proving inefficient. Although she was trying to remain calm, every second the kid kept his eyes closed made it more and more clear that something was not going OK.

"And what happened?!" Pearl finally cracked under the pressure, letting her voice reveal how anxious she really felt. At that moment a cold feeling invaded the back of her neck. She looked directly into Peridot's eyes and asked: "What did you mean... Trapped...?"

"Pearl, Steven really won't wake up!" Amethyst's voice bordered panic.

Pearl heard her, but she didn't look away from Peridot; their eyes fixed on one another's. "Peridot, what did you mean?!" Her fear was now obvious, both in her eyes and her voice.

Peridot couldn't take it any longer. She snapped.

"They have him trapped!" She yelled. The two other gems' attention centered on her. "In his dream, he's trapped inside a mirror, and he can't leave! That's why he can't wake up! That's why he won't!" The words came haltingly out of her mouth. "They won't let him..." Pearl released Peridot's shoulders and covered her mouth, unable to look away from Peridot's teary eyes. "I saw them... I saw her! She's mad, she hates you! She hates me..." Peridot was no longer capable of holding in her fear, and it was pouring out in her voice. "She wants to hurt us... And this is how..."

Pearl could no longer stand listening to her. She pushed Amethyst aside and threw herself onto the sleeping boy, hugging him in an effort to protect him from a danger that was not in the room. For a moment, the situation turned chaotic. Peridot covered her face in a gesture of supreme desperation as Pearl sobbed while burying her face in the kid's hair. Amethyst reacted differently. She looked at the two of them, breathing heavily and looking more mad than sad. Still, concern was obvious in her eyes.

"How!?" She grabbed Peridot's shoulder and made her look at her. "How is that possible?!" 

Peridot shook her head. "I don't... I don't know!" She really didn't. 

"Explain some more! How did she get inside his dream?! How did you do it too?!" With each question, she shook Peridot strongly. "What were you doing here in the first place?!"

For all response, Peridot shook her head.

"Argh!" Amethyst let go of her and walked down the stairs, putting more strength than necessary on the floor with each step. She stopped momentarily to look at Garnet, growled lowly at the sight of the fusion's unexpressive face, and then continued. Pearl raised her head to look at her go.

"A-Amethyst...?" Peridot mumbled. The purple gem didn't turn around to look at her. "Where are you going...?"

"Where do you think I'm going?!" She did turn around then. Her eyes were teary, but fierce. "I'm going to find her and kick her right in her stupid face!" The other two looked at her in awe. "If she thinks she can mess with one of us, then..."

"Wait!" Pearl intended to stand up, but at the last moment she couldn't bring herself to separate from the child. "You can't go on your own!"

"Ha! Watch me!" Amethyst started walking again, but another voice stopped her one more time.

"How are you going to find her?" Amethyst stopped dead in her track. When she turned around again, her face showed surprised. Because the one to speak this time, was Garnet.

For the first time in the whole situation, everyone's attention centered on her. Pearl and Peridot had barely been aware of her presence, and they were as surprised as Amethyst when they heard her voice.

"Are you going to leave him like this?" Amethyst saw her point at Steven, and clenched her fists in frustration. She knew the logic of her first question was unbeatable, and still, she felt incapable of staying in the room one more second. But leaving him like that...

"Argh! What do you know!?" She yelled at the fusion. "And why are you so freaking calm?"

But as soon as she spoke, she knew she was wrong. Garnet's hand was still pointing at Steven, and only then Amethyst noticed she was shaking noticeably. In awe, she observed as the fusion, as if to further prove her mistake, moved her hand to take off her glasses, revealing her eyes. In them, Amethyst saw the reflection of her own concerns, only multiplied, and realized that with her future vision, Garnet was probably suffering more than any of them the painful stroke of the tragedy, being able to see every facet of it from different angles. At that moment, the weight of the recent emotions finally caught up with her, and Amethyst turned around before cleaning her eyes of the tears she was desperately trying, and failing, to hold in.

"Now it's the moment to stay together." Garnet spoke. "We need to stay strong. We need to stay a team." Everyone heard her, and everyone knew she was right. And yet no one felt better by hearing her words.

It was a moment of despair. Nobody seemed to have something to say, so they all just stood around, trying to assimilate their current situation. The only sound was their agitated breathing, and Pearl's quiet sobbing.

Finally, Peridot was the one that put an end to the silence by saying out loud the question they were all thinking.

"What... What do we do next...?"

Nobody answered. Peridot turned around and looked at Pearl. The image of the gem holding Steven's lifeless body in her arms made her cringe. It was almost physically painful. Still, she made her best effort to think logically and try to comfort the gem. As such, she approached her and spoke.

"He... He's not..." She doubted for a moment, but continued speaking. "Dead." The word made Pearl tighten her grip on the kid. Peridot hasten to continue. "I mean...! He... He's still breathing." It was true, the kid's chest was moving up and down slowly but constantly. Pearl didn't look at her though. "He's just asleep... There's still hope, right?" Her question sounded desperate. Again, nobody answered. Peridot swallowed thickly.

"How could we let this happen?" Finally, Pearl talked. As she did, she caressed Steven's hair. "We failed to found them, and as a consequence... Steven..."

"We did our best." Garnet replied. Her words, however, didn't seem to ease Pearl's concerns. Peridot couldn't stand seeing her like that.

"Argh! It's not your fault! Ok?" Peridot took her hands to her head while frowning. "If someone's... It should be mine."

"You didn't do anything, Peri." Amethyst's voice, coming from downstairs. After speaking for the first time in a while, the purple gem started walking upstairs.

"But I..." Peridot clenched her fists and closed her eyes. "I brought them here! I'm the whole reason this is all happening! This is... This is all my fa-"

"It's not." Garnet interrupted her. "Don't ever say that." The fusion put a hand over Peridot's shoulder. Peridot opened her eyes to look at her, surprised. "Don't you see? You belong here, Peridot." Garnet walked up to the sleeping kid and sat on the bed next to Pearl, from where she directed her eyes to a confused Peridot. "You were meant to be here, on Earth. And we're all happy you are. If that brings consequences, then we'll just have to deal with them. They are not your fault." Her words were soft. Peridot unclenched her fists, unable to look away from her and blushing slightly.

"Do you..." She bit her lower lip. "Do you really believe so...?"

Garnet nodded once. "I know so." And her words calmed the green gem, even if just slightly.

"Besides..." Pearl added. "If Homeworld hadn't sent you, it would've sent some other gem. Something could've gone wrong just as easily..."

Peridot observed the two gems on the bed and Amethyst, who had now joined them in their position surrounding the kid in Pearl's arms, and was overwhelmed with gratitude. Even in their current situation, even if they were feeling just as terrible as her, the gems were still trying to make her feel better. In just a brief moment of thinking, she wondered what exactly she'd done to deserve being a part of the odd and unique group known as the Crystal Gems.

"I..." Ironically, under everyone's comforting eyes, Peridot felt uncomfortable. Still blushing, she avoided their eyes. "We really should be focusing on... The task at hand..."

There was no possible doubt about the meaning of her words. Their eyes centered on Steven, whose expression had remained unchanged throughout the whole scene. 

"But thank you..." She added, almost in a whisper.

A moment of silence followed. Nobody was sure about how to approach the subject. More calm at that point, Pearl was the first one to speak.

"Something must've changed." She said. Garnet put on her glasses again, and tilted her head, waiting for her to continue. "They'd never tried to... Make a move before." She caressed Steven's hair. "Why would Lapis even try to... Hurt him?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe she's lost it..." Amethyst suggested. She tried to sound playful, but it was clear to everyone that her words were very serious. "She's been in the ocean for, what? A year? I know I would have lost my mind if I had to spend that much time with that doofus."

"Jasper." Peridot thought. She shook her head. 

"I don't think Lapis Lazuli is the one holding Steven hostage." They all directed her eyes to her. "Steven and I thought so too..." She explained. "While dreaming. But when I called her that, her specific words were... 'Lapis is no more.'" The memory was chilling. The green gem took her hand to her cheek, thoughtfully.

"So, Jasper then?" Pearl said. "Did she finally take control?"

"She wouldn't have tried to hurt me like she did!" Peridot pointed out. "I mean... She would have, if she knew I'm a..." She realized she was about to mention her new status as a Crystal Gem, and quickly changed her words in a different direction. "I'm living here, on Earth. But she couldn't possibly have known that." She cleared her throat, under Amethyst's suspicious look. "Besides, this..." She added, directing her eyes to Steven. "This just doesn't look like her way to fight, see? Jasper is a warrior. Warriors value pride and honor over everything..." Pearl nodded. Everyone seemed to be out of ideas, when Garnet spoke.

"It doesn't have to be one or the other." Garnet put her hands in front of her, separated from each other by a short distance. Everyone observed her. "Malachite is the worst fusion I've ever seen. She's toxic. She's fused for all the wrong reasons. That's why there's a constant struggle inside her." She moved one of her hands to be over the other one. "But maybe that's a good thing. Lapis and Jasper are together, but they are not mixed. However, if somehow they were to really become one..." She put her hands together, linking each finger in a tight embrace. Pearl covered her mouth with her hand. "Who knows the kind of tortured and wicked creature that would be the result of that." Her hands shivered just by thinking about it.

"You mean... They might be really together now?" Amethyst asked. For all response, Garnet shrugged.

"That does make a lot of sense..." Pearl said.

"But it doesn't matter now." The fusion sentenced. She stood up, her expression deathly serious. "Everything that matters now is that Steven is in grave danger, and he's counting on us to help him. Whatever the reason Lapis and Jas- No... Malachite has to try to hurt us, I can only think of one way to stop her." She cracked her knuckles in a very expressive gesture.

"Heck, it's about time." Amethyst punched her hand with a dangerous expression. Peridot saw them and nodded. Only Pearl, who was still sitting on the bed, didn't seem to be ready.

"Wait...! Peridot...?" She said.

"Huh?"

"How did you get here?" The sudden question got everyone's attention. Peridot blinked twice before answering, slightly surprised by it.

"Oh! I... Lion brought me here." She explained. " He also pinned me down until I fell asleep. Come to think about it, he's the only reason I got to share Steven's dream." She looked around for the creature. "Where's the furry beast anyway?"

"Lion brought you...?" Pearl seemed very surprised by her explanation. "I was the first one to arrive here in the morning and he wasn't here!" She frowned in confusion. "But how did he know...?"

"That...! Is actually a very good question..." She realized she hadn't thought about it and took a hand to her chin.

"Oh, come on! Can't you nerds think about that later?" Amethyst exclaimed. Both Pearl and Peridot directed distasteful views to her. "We're kind of in a hurry, remember?"

"We don't have time to spare." Garnet agreed.

"I know that!" Pearl seemed slightly offended. "Maybe some of us are wondering how will we even start searching in the first place, or what are we going to do with... Steven..." The very mention of the kid and his state immediately put a dent in their morale. Amethyst snorted and kicked the floor in front of her before turning around, while Pearl's hands nervously surrounded the kid in her lap again. Peridot saw them, and quickly said:

"Hey...! We... We'll figure something out, alright?" Trying to sound comforting, she put a hand on Garnet's elbow, the highest place she could reach without too much effort. "For what it's worth... Steven is not... 'In pain'..." She remembered the kid shivering in the cold. She swallowed thickly; she couldn't really assure them that. Peridots weren't good liars, she reminded herself. "Maybe he can't wake up but, I mean... As bad as that is, at least he knows we're coming." Her words seemed to somewhat serve as a relief to them, but they had the opposite effect on herself. She swallowed it, however and continued speaking. "Also, I might... I might have an idea on how to find her."

"Really?" Pearl's eyes were full of hope as she spoke.

Peridot nodded once, putting up a smile. "Positive. But I need to get to the barn first."

After a moment, Pearl nodded and hugged the kid tight for a second longer, before sighing and standing up. She put him on the bed, and as the gems started talking about the best way to proceed, Peridot rubbed her hands nervously. She wondered if she'd done the right thing by not telling them how desperate Steven's situation actually was, and she wondered what Steven would've done in her place. She sighed. She hated to lie to the other gems, but they needed to remain positive more than ever, seeing that the kid, who was usually the one to cheer all of them up, wasn't exactly around. And she decided to take that responsibility. With mixed feelings in her chest, Peridot only wished she was right, that Steven was fine and that her idea would actually work.

"I'm keeping my promise, Steven." She thought.

~~~

Darkness had returned. He knew that Peridot had left; otherwise she never would have stopped talking to him for so long. Although it quickly started getting lonely inside there again, he was feeling much better than before. Mostly because ever since they talked, his mind had been taken out of the confusing mist that before prevented him from thinking straight. Steven had grown aware of his situation. Before that, it'd all felt like a never-ending nightmare, something unexplainable and scary. But Peridot's light had ignited the spark of hope in his heart, and now, as scary as it still was, he knew it all had some sort of explanation, and more importantly, a solution. It was an unknown one, but he was sure it existed. And he had a thread to pull and start looking for it. 

Because he'd noticed that, just a moment before Peridot dropped his mirror, when she lifted him and pointed him into the storm raging in the sky, the words he'd spoke had had an effect of some sort. His words had made the storm, and whoever was behind it... Angrier. And Steven wasn't sure that was a good sign, but he was sure it had crucial importance. Because he'd yelled something not many would get angry at.

"Whatever it is we've done to you, I'm sorry! I just want to help you! Please let me!" At the moment, he hadn't thought about his words, he'd just said what he really felt like. 

It was clear that the one hidden behind the storm hadn't taken it very well, but at least it had shown some sort of reaction. Now it was all about having another chance to communicate, he thought. That, however, was bound to be the tricky part.

Inside the mirror as he was, Steven hadn't noticed much of what had happened once Peridot got out of the house. He'd heard the noise of rain, an unintelligible voice that sounded like thunder and came from the storm, a sudden strong flash of light and then, silence. No more rain, only emptiness. His interpretation was that his mirror had landed upside down on the floor, leaving him facing the ground, but he wasn't sure that was just it. In any case, he couldn't talk to the voice in the sky anymore. But Steven was trying his best to remain positive.

"Hello?" He yelled at the emptiness around him. "Can you hear me?"

His voice got lost in the darkness. He was starting to miss the light from Peridot's gem.

"I know you are there! I know you can hear me!" He was bluffing. At that point, he wasn't even sure he was yelling in the right direction. "Can you just... Let me out, please? It's really cold in h-here!" Again, no answer.

"Well, can you at least talk to me?" The void remained silent.

Steven tucked his hands under his arms, shivering. "If only I were wearing a sweater..." He thought. At that moment, a small but bright idea appeared in his mind. He was just dreaming; maybe he could...

"I wish I was wearing a sweater!" He yelled, extending his arms. And he waited. And waited. And kept waiting. But nothing happened, and he put his arms down, disappointed. "It always seemed to work in cartoons..." He complained. He remained quiet for a moment, hugging himself tightly again.

"Was that you out there, Lapis?" He whispered. "It didn't sound like you. But this is your mirror, right?" Perfect silence, surrounding him. "Is this how your mirror was too? It's so lonely. I'm sorry you had to spend all that time inside here..." He stopped for a moment, thinking. 

"Are you... Mad at me...?"

He was sure by then that he wasn't being heard, but he chose not to let that get to him. Peridot had been there, and she was most likely awake by then, meaning the gems probably knew about him. And they'd figure a way to help him out. Until then, he'd just have to wait patiently.

"If I could begin to be..." Hoping to fill the silence, he sang Peridot's song, trying not to stutter too much.

~~~

Peridot had seemed to be the most positive out of them, but on their way there, her mood had gotten worse. In fact, she had been quiet to the point of making Pearl concerned about her again. Pearl was fighting her own battle against fear and uncertainty and could, to some extent, understand her behavior, but it was clear that something atop Steven's situation was bothering the green gem. As soon as they arrived at the barn, Peridot opened the truck's door and stepped outside in a hurry, slamming the door behind her.

"Hey!" Pearl complained. The gem didn't look back on her way to the building. Pearl sighed. At that point, she was wishing Amethyst or Garnet had come with her too, but the two gems had an ugly task of their own. In order to find Malachite, they'd have to start searching immediately, and Steven was going to have to stay with someone. And the only one they could think of, was Greg. That of course, left the issue of letting him know about Steven's current state. In all honesty, Pearl wasn't sure what Greg's reaction would be, but she was sure it wouldn't be nice. She and Peridot had gotten the easiest task, she thought; getting to the barn to help the latter with her "idea" that could, and hopefully would, help them find the fusion.

Pearl got out of the car too. Peridot was already inside, and as she walked up to the open building, Pearl could hear the other gem trashing around, most likely searching for something. Pearl stood in the front door and looked inside, amazed by the picture she was awarded with.

She had never seen Peridot's personal workshop before, and for a moment, witnessing the chaotic, and yet attractive to the eye, mess of tools and both finished and unfinished pieces of work laying around, took Pearl's mind off the business that had brought them there and the green gem occupied with her search. Fascinated, and carefully avoiding to step on anything, she approached the chalkboard to read the annotations that Peridot had made about her prototypes for the future. Pearl was still amazed by Peridot's capacity to improvise, using nothing but spare parts to create complex tools, and respectfully ran a finger over the blueprints on the chalkboard, internally wondering where the limits of Peridot's creative mind really rested.

"Aha!" Peridot's voice reminded her of their current situation. She turned around and looked at the green gem, who was now sitting on the floor. In her hands, she recognized the radar.

"That thing!" Pearl exclaimed. "You... Fixed it...?" The last time Pearl had seen it, it had been reduced to pieces.

"Positive." Peridot held the radar with a tired expression in her face. Pearl approached her and took a closer look at it. It looked rather scrappy.

"Is that what will help us find her...?"

"Positive." Peridot repeated as she nodded. Pearl observed her expectantly, but, although Peridot had seemed eager to find that piece of equipment as quickly as possible, she did nothing but absentmindedly observe the tool in her hands. Finally, Pearl spoke.

"How, exactly?" She asked, carefully. Like waking up from a dream, Peridot raised her eyes to look at her, apparently mildly surprise by her question.

"Huh...? I mean... Right!" She stood up. "Well, hmm… Do you remember what I explained about my pod before? About how it tracks the energy spectrum of my enhancers?" Pearl nodded. "Back then I had some trouble using that function, at first. As it turns out, my enhancers didn't seem to be emitting any energy." Pearl tilted her head, paying close attention. "I should have known. They get the energy from their owner's gem. I, or their owner, to be more specific, is the battery that provides them with energy, get it? They had been disconnected from me for a while, meaning there were only small traces of energy left in them. But, as you know, I managed to overcome that difficulty, thanks to Earth's ocean. But that's not important right now... What is important is that I discovered that, since the pod can actually recognize my specific energy spectrum, it probably can recognize other gem's. Essentially, making it a universal... Gem tracking device..." Peridot swallowed visibly.

"Peridot..." Pearl's eyes were wide open. "That is incredible! So you can actually track them down?" She smiled hopefully. "We just have to use this, right?"

"Well, I..!" Peridot avoided her eyes and walked up to the board. "It's not that simple, OK? I haven't tried it yet, and I don't have any way to recognize Lapis or Jasper's energy spectrum, since they are not even here. Furthermore, since they are fused, they probably have a different one now than individually... Or not, this is all very new to me..." Pearl's smile died slowly. Peridot saw her and quickly continued speaking. "But... I... I can try to do it right now."

"What are we waiting for then?" The smile had returned to Pearl's face. The tall gem was unaware of the uncheerful tone in Peridot’s voice.

"Right. Yes. I've just got to modify a few things..." Peridot nodded. She didn't lose a second more, leaning down and grabbing a screwdriver that she immediately put to use, putting the radar on top of a small wooden box. She also put on her googles.

It was hard for Pearl to see her work, as she knew that, if Peridot failed, the search for Malachite would be a slow and hard process. They had already spent a lot of time and effort trying to find her before, with no positive results. Furthermore, she wasn't sure how long Steven could remain asleep, being unable to eat... The thought made her shiver. No, it had to work. It was the only way. As such, she waited as patiently as she could, rubbing her hands nervously, walking back and forth and looking over the other gem's shoulder, until finally, Peridot raised her eyes to look at her. She didn't say anything, which made Pearl nervous.

"So..?" She asked. "How... How did it go?"

Peridot used her index finger to push her googles up. "Come take a look." Pearl approached her and looked at the screen in the device that Peridot was holding. She noticed the screen was broken badly, but it still seemed to be able to display information. On it, Pearl saw two dots of different sizes, one next to the other. "See this?" Peridot pointed at the smallest dot. "That's me." Pearl's eyes widened. "You." Peridot added, pointing at the biggest dot. It took Pearl a moment to process the information, before a wide smile made its way to her face.

"It worked! You did it!" She couldn't help the sudden impulse of grabbing the green gem's face between her hands, laughing cheerfully. Peridot gasped, surprised, but Pearl quickly stepped back, blushing lightly. "We'll find her! This is...!" She interrupted her words, however, as she saw Peridot take off her googles. She wasn't smiling, and her eyes were didn’t reveal happiness, but concern. "Peridot...? Is there something bothering you...?" Pearl asked, with a confused expression on her face.

"What...? No!" The gem put up a smile that didn't fool Pearl for even one second. Her eyes narrowed. "This is great! Don't you see? We can find her now, even in the ocean! It won't be hard; it won't take too much time either! Soon, Steven won't be in danger anymore..." Words were coming haltingly out her mouth and she was avoiding Pearl's eyes. The latter watched her with growing concern. "He'll be fine, away from trouble and safe! Just so I can mess things up and put him in danger again!" By that point, she was yelling at nothing in particular. With her last words, she kicked a wooden box full of screws in a sudden movement that startled Pearl. The screws flew up in the air and were scattered all across the floor as the thin box was broken in half by the violent hit.

"Peridot!" Pearl exclaimed, and tried to get closer to the gem. But Peridot quickly took a step back as she raised an arm to stop Pearl from moving. She was breathing laboriously and her eyes were teary. "What are you...?" Pearl tried to ask.

"Oh, how can you not see it!?" Peridot angrily reproached her. Pearl shook her head with her mouth half open. "I didn't just discover this!" She showed her the radar. "I came up with this concept ages ago! Since I created this thing, I knew it could be used to do just this! You could've found her way before any of this had to happen..." Her words were sad, and so were her eyes.

Slowly at first, understanding made its way to Pearl's mind. Peridot's behavior started making more sense in her head. She was blaming it all on herself. "But... Why didn't you tell us?"

"Oh, that's just the best part!" Her words sounded deceivingly cheerful. "It was all because I was afraid! I was terrified of you finding her! Because I'm a coward!" She spit out the last word with anger. Pearl wanted to ask her to calm down, but Peridot continued speaking. "Do you know what Jasper is? She's the last string tying me to Homeworld. She doesn't know I've changed, and she sure as heck won't understand it! So, she's the last challenge I'll have to face to prove myself that I have really abandoned Homeworld's ways..." Anger had left her body. Her words now were just sad. "But I didn't want to face her...I was too afraid that I'd fail... That... Somehow, I would wind up going back to who I was..." A single tear dropped from her right eye. Pearl found herself unable to speak. "And so, I let you go and waste your time trying to find her again and again, while knowing I was hiding the invention that could've ended your problem for no other reason than my selfish fear... And now... Steven..." She cringed, unable to continue speaking.

"Peridot, you couldn't possibly have known that... I... About Jasper... She..." Words just didn't seem to want to leave Pearl's mouth. "This isn't your..."

"Why can't I get anything right...?" Peridot didn't seem to hear her. She was looking at the device in her hands. "All I do is put Steven in danger... Put all of you in danger. It's been the same since the first time, nothing has changed! How can I be a Crystal Gem...? If I can't even protect him...?" Tears were now rolling down her cheeks. "Is there something wrong with me...? Am I... Bad...?"

Suddenly, Pearl approached her. Peridot took a step back again, but Pearl was faster, and soon, the tall gem was on her knees, hugging her tightly. Peridot stopped talking and stood motionless, with her eyes firmly closed.

"You're not bad." Pearl's words were soft. "We all let him down... Not just you. It is our responsibility too." Pearl had her arms firmly around the other gem's body. "Everybody makes mistakes... But that's not all we are, is it? That's not what we all see when we see each other. Do you know what I see when I see you? I see hope." Peridot opened her eyes slowly. "Hope for every other gem that, like you, can see the error of her ways. You're perfect, Peridot, just the way you are, mistakes included." Peridot trembled upon her words. "It doesn't matter how bad you mess up, we'll forgive you every time, and we will all be happy to see you grow. To see you become a better gem by learning with each mistake."

"But why...?" Peridot was barely holding in her sobs. Rivers of tears ran down her cheeks. "Don't you ever get tired of f-forgiving me...?"

"Of course not!" Pearl answered.

"BUT WHY?!" She yelled at the other gem, with her fists clenched strongly. Pearl separated from her slightly to look at her face. Through her own tears, Peridot saw her eyes were wet too.

"Because we love you, Peridot."

Although she had barely noticed, Peridot had been holding back a lot since that morning. But at that moment, she broke down. She hugged Pearl strongly, letting her be the shelter she needed. During all the time their embrace lasted, Pearl kept whispering that none of it was her fault, and that she had nothing to fear. And Peridot was happy to find that she believed her every word.

~~~

"See, I've been through the desert on a horse with no name..." The radio sang, but no one was paying attention to it anymore.

In an odd occurrence, Pearl had turned it on in their way back, and so the human tunes had accompanied them in their short trip. Although Pearl had, for a moment, thought it hadn't been a good idea, Peridot had found herself enjoying the distraction of, for the first time, hearing humans other than Greg play their unknown instruments and sing their strange and almost unintelligible lyrics. At the moment they arrived at the beach house, however, the reality got to her again, and she got off the car with the radar in her hands. This time she didn't throw the door, and she waited for Pearl to start walking in direction to the house.

They walked silently side by side, and there was a comfortable complicity in the act. Their feelings were peaceful as they entered the house, where they were met with a situation that, much to their surprise, was not very different from theirs.

~~~

Earlier that day, Amethyst and Garnet were left with a situation to handle. After Pearl and Peridot left the house, they both stayed silent for a couple of minutes, feeling unsure about how to proceed.

"Maybe if I go to sleep...? Maybe I'll get to share a dream with him!" Amethyst suddenly suggested. The idea had just assaulted her, and at the moment it seemed pretty logical. Garnet, however, shook her head slowly.

"It won't work." She sentenced. The certainty in her voice made it clear that she'd already foreseen the outcome of that course of action. Amethyst sighed, disillusioned. After another moment of silence, she spoke again.

"I'll... Go get Greg." There was no point in postponing it any longer; her voice sounded resigned.

Garnet nodded, and Amethyst, after a moment of doubt, got out of the house, leaving the fusion alone. Although the task ahead worried her, she was equally concerned about what, or rather who, she was leaving behind. The stern fusion was not one to easily crumble under pressure, but Amethyst knew better than to take her control over herself for granted. Ruby and Sapphire had separated about conflicts in the past, and she could barely imagine the amount of stress they were undergoing at that moment. Garnet's silence concerned her. As such, when she left the house, she planned on being quick, in order not to leave her alone for too long.

The house was silent after Amethyst got out. Garnet sat down on the bed, next to Steven. There, she stayed motionless, with her hands on her knees. 

There wasn't a sign of it, but a conversation was taking place at that moment inside the room. It was a very odd occurrence: the two gems that formed Garnet were usually so deeply connected, that any kind on conversation was downright unnecessary. Then again, the situation they were in was very odd too. As such, inside Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire were, for the first time in some time, finding themselves as separate gems. Although they didn't unfuse, their personalities weren't combined, resulting in the momentarily disappearance of Garnet as a single fusion.

Differently from other times, most of which they had been fully separated, Ruby and Sapphire were not arguing. They were still very frustrated, however, and the conversation was tense.

"I can't believe we didn't see this coming..."

"This was an incredibly small possibility... We can't predict miracles."

"Argh! We still could've done something! Anything!"

"All we did, is all we could've done."

"... Right..."

A brief moment of silence followed.

"She's bringing him."

"... What are we going to tell him...?"

"Everything."

"Sapphire! Isn't that... Risky?"

"Of course. It's always been. And yet... He deserves to know."

"I... Understand."

Again, a moment of silence.

"Why do you think the lion looked for her?"

"You know as much about that as I do."

"..."

"Maybe their connection is stronger than we know..."

There were no voices: just thoughts. There was no emphasis or tone changes, but there were feelings that accompanied each thought. Such was the communication taking place.

"Are you... afraid?"

"You know the answer."

"I mean... I know we were... But that could've been just me..."

"... I can't see it."

"?"

"I really can't. The future in which this all resolves... Appropriately."

"..."

"I... I am afraid."

"... I shouldn't have asked... I'm sorry..."

"No... It's good to know I'm not the only one."

"Yeah... You're not. But we shouldn't be. We can... We can solve this."

"You don't know that."

"But I do! We'll find a way! We and the others, I'm sure!"

"..."

"We have to. I don't care if we don't see it! We didn't see this, right? And it still happened... Let's just try to remain positive... Let's not give up..."

"We won't. We both know we would never give up... You're right. We have to do our best. Together."

"Yeah! That's more like it! We're not alone! We'll find..."

"Garnet...?" Amethyst spoke.

Although Amethyst didn't note the change, in less than a second Garnet was together again. Her personality appeared as quick as it'd left, and the gems that were there just a moment before were now together as part of the same entity again. It was an unnoticeable event that left Garnet somewhat disoriented.

She looked around for a moment, noticing, as if for the first time, the sunlight that entered through the windows filling the room and bathing Amethyst, the gem whose slightly troubled eyes were staring at her. Garnet's eyes finally rested on the newcomer in the room: Greg, who was sitting next to her on the bed, examining Steven with a look of concern in his face.

"Kiddo...?" He whispered, but Garnet was barely conscious of it.

"You OK...?" Amethyst asked, visibly worried. After a moment, Garnet came back to her senses. She stood up, nodded once at the purple gem and put a hand on her shoulder, in an effort to calm her thoughts, before turning her attention fully to the human on the bed.

"Hey, Stevo... Do you wanna... Maybe wake up for your old man...?" His voice was painfully shaky. Greg shook his son delicately as he spoke. "I can make us some pancakes... How does that sound...?" But Steven's expression remained unchanged, and Greg had to make an effort to keep his cool. "What about... Waffles...?" The man swallowed thickly before hugging his son.

Garnet and Amethyst saw him, feeling more troubled every second. They'd been through the same initial shock, but seeing someone else go through it was a tough test of its own. From Greg's words, Garnet took it Amethyst'd explained some of the situation to him.

Although it took him some time, finally, like it'd happened to both of them, Greg realized his efforts were pointless. He caressed Steven's hair for a long moment, while silence filled the room, before standing up. 

Greg's eyes met Garnet's visor. When he spoke, his voice was barely controlled.

"Garnet, I..." He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "I know I'm nothing but a human and I know you think I should stay away from gem business, but..." His words were interrupted when Garnet raised a hand.

For the last time, Garnet wondered if what she was about to do was the right thing to do. "Greg. Steven is the bearer of the Rose Quartz gem. He is far more than any human child. He's the first of his kind, and Rose's hope lies on him. His destiny is greater than yours, and mine." Greg's expression hardened, but Garnet continued speaking. "But... He is also your son." Greg's eyes widened. "Please, ask anything you need to know. I'll make sure to answer your questions in the best way possible."

"Wow." Amethyst whispered.

For a moment, Greg remained unable to speak. Garnet'd never offered a thing like that in the past to him, and he pondered how bad the situation had to be, in order for her to offer it. Also, in a somewhat fearful manner, he questioned how much he really wanted to know. But finally, he nodded, accepting Garnet's offer.

"Thank you. I... I really appreciate it." Garnet nodded once. Greg took a deep breath, with a tired expression in his face. "Alright. Please tell me... How did this happen?"

"First question." Garnet thought. Although it wasn't all that simple, out of the ones Greg would ask her in the near future, it was probably the easiest one to answer.

"We don't fully understand it, but we know Steven has the capacity to share a connection with certain gems in his sleep." She made sure her voice was calm and controlled. Greg payed close attention. "He's done it in the past, specifically with Lapis Lazuli." His eyes narrowed. "We believe she... Or rather, the fusion she's part of, is exploiting this connection somehow... Not allowing him to wake up." 

Garnet really tried not to hide anything from him, and Greg noticed. Her words, however, didn't ease his concerns. If something, he became slightly more alarmed.

"The fusion...? You mean, the one in the ocean?" He asked. Garnet nodded once. Greg ran a hand over his head. "But... Why is it happening now? And you said he's done it in the past...?" His eyes were doubtful.

"Next round." She thought briefly. Again, not especially hard to answer.

"Lapis Lazuli was in control of Malachite, the fusion. That's when she took it to the bottom of the sea. She did it to protect Steven from Jasper, the other gem that came with Peridot." Garnet chose her words carefully. She wasn't sure Lapis had the intention of protecting Earth or anyone other than Steven. "We can't tell for sure, but it appears to be that she's lost control over it. That's probably why it's happening now. And yes, he'd done it in the past. Although before, he was in control. It seemed like nothing but a normal dream."

Greg bit his lower lip for a moment, and nodded. He wasn't sure how much he actually liked getting all that information, but at least now some new light was shining over the darkness. He remained silent for a moment, growing the courage to ask the one question that really mattered.

"Is he..." He swallowed thickly. "Is he going to be OK?" He clenched his fists and clearly tried hard to keep a neutral expression.

"That's the one." She thought this time. The one question she was afraid to answer. The one she, since that morning, had known she eventually would have to answer. A multitude of thoughts crossed Garnet's mind at that moment. She'd looked for the answer to that question on her own, and she hadn't liked what she'd found. She'd gone through the options over and over, but every single one led to a destiny she didn't want to face. And every single time, she'd had the opportunity to see the other's reactions to it; it hadn't been easy. It was an immense amount of pressure, and it all came down to that question. She thought about all that, but in reality, it happened in a matter of seconds.

Garnet took off her glasses slowly, and looked at Greg directly into his eyes. There, for a moment, Garnet made an effort to forget her future vision. She stopped thinking about the possibilities and chances of failure, and spoke from the heart; at that point, the only thing she was absolutely certain about.

"I don't know." The words felt heavy as she pronounced them.

"What...?" Amethyst's expression froze, eyes wide open. Greg swallowed thickly.

Garnet, however, remained calm. "Please, listen to me." She stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I know how much it means to you that I can predict positive outcomes for the problems we face. It makes us all feel secure, and you might even think I'm infallible..." She smiled half way, but her eyes were sad. "But that's not true. I'm not nearly all knowing and I'm wrong sometimes... I didn't know this would happen, and right now, I don't know if he's going to be OK. I just... Can't see it." Seeing discomfort in their faces, Garnet lowered her eyes, and for a moment, she wished she could go back and unsay her words. "I'm sorry." She mumbled. It hurt her to be unable to grant them the confidence they could usually expect from her. At that moment, however, she was surprised, as she caught a movement through the corner of her eye.

Amethyst moved so quickly that Garnet wouldn't have been able to stop her even if she'd wanted to. A little gasp escaped her lips as she felt the purple gem's arms surrounding her. After a moment of silence, with a reedy voice, Amethyst spoke:

"It's... OK if you don't know... We don't need future vision to know we will do our best... Right?"

Garnet remained unresponsive.

"Y-Yeah!" Greg rubbed the back of his head, putting up a smile. "I don't know what I was thinking asking that! I mean... You're the Crystal Gems, for Pete’s sake! You've pulled through, all this time! You are definitely going to find a way!"

"Yeah! No way we'll let Steven down!" Amethyst was smiling now too. Their voices, which a moment ago had been fearful, were now overflowing with hope.

A little smile made its way to Garnet's face, and there, it grew until Garnet started laughing lowly. Greg and Amethyst interchanged worried looks, but Garnet noticed and spoke to calm them down.

"It's OK... It's just..." She laughed a bit more. "I didn't see this either. Feels nice to be happily surprised." She smiled as she returned Amethyst's hug strongly, while the latter mumbled something about her being "a big weirdo" while blushing softly. Greg observed them with a slightly awkward, but honestly happy, smile on his face.

~~~

A couple of hours had passed since then when Pearl and Peridot arrived. Everyone's attention quickly centered on the newcomers, specifically Peridot and the device on her hands.

"We found it. It works." Pearl announced. Relief was reflected in everyone's faces in the clearest way possible, but Pearl didn't waste time acknowledging it. "I'll get the pod." She said to Peridot. The latter nodded firmly, and a second later, Pearl walked towards the temple door.

Peridot didn't fail to notice the atmosphere in the room. Even Greg was there, and they all seemed... At peace. In a moment of clarity, Peridot came to realize how, even in the middle of despair, the support of friends could have that kind of effect on both humans and gems. And not for the last time, she felt lucky of being able to share said support with the people in that room.

Soon, the pod was in the middle of the living room. Peridot, aided by Pearl, started the process of hooking it up and preparing it to serve its function. Meanwhile, everyone waited patiently. Seeking a distraction, Amethyst grabbed the radar, which Peridot had placed on the table.

"So... How does it work?" She asked, while taking a closer look at its screen.

"Not very different than before..." Peridot answered, too busy to even look at her as she spoke. "It's just now, it's not tracking any gem energy spectrum in particular. It's just tracking every single one in its range."

"She acts like it's no big deal, but I'd never seen anything like it." Pearl commented. As a response, Peridot mumbled a thankful comment while blushing softly. 

"Woah..." Amethyst re-examined the screen with renovated curiosity. "Is that... Us...?"

"Positive." Peridot started to use the pod's interface as Pearl took a wide wire, the last one, out the front door. Amethyst followed her on the device.

"Why are some bigger than the others...?" Amethyst asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Again, it's not tracking any energy in particular. What you see is the amount of energy that each one of us possesses. The bigger the dot, the more energy you have." Peridot continued explaining. "It doesn't really give that much information, but... Malachite should be the only dot in the middle of the sea, so... That'll probably be a dead giveaway."

"Hey P., my dot's bigger than yours! I could totally take you..." Amethyst teased Pearl playfully, as soon as she entered through the front door.

"Amount of power isn't everything in a fight, Amethyst." She replied, keeping her head high.

"Even so, it's just natural that you're the most powerful one of us. You're a Quartz." Peridot said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Aww, shucks you!" She pretended to act embarrassed, and Peridot felt happy to verify she was in the mood to joke around again. "Your dot ain't all that small either. But Garnet's is even bigger than mine!" Smiling half way, the fusion upstairs made a gesture of showing muscle with her arms that made Greg laugh lowly.

"Of course. Fusions do tend to be more powerful than single gems." Pearl pointed out. Peridot nodded in agreement.

"But wait... No way...! Is this...?" Amethyst rose her eyes from the machine to look at Garnet, and then at the screen again. Something seemed to trouble her for a moment. Soon, however, a smile appeared on her face. "Ha! Steven's dot is almost as big as Garnet's!" Her comment got everyone's attention. "Heck, it’s bigger than mine!”

"What...?" Pearl seemed surprised too. "Could it be...?" She looked at Peridot for a response.

The latter shrugged her shoulders again before answering. "For all I know, that thing could be busted. It's pretty beat up, so I wouldn’t trust all its readings. Also, Steven is not exactly a gem... Even if he does have one. It might work for a hybrid differently than it does for us, or not. Who knows, really. It's all new territory for me on that subject, but... I suppose it's possible. After all..." Peridot walked up to Amethyst and took a look at the screen. "His gem is a Quartz too. Can I have that back?" She extended her hand in Amethyst's direction, and the purple gem handed her the device.

"I suppose..." Pearl murmured, taking a hand to her chin thoughtfully.

"Rose Quartz was a very powerful gem." Garnet stated. Pearl nodded.

"Ha! Steven will not believe me when I tell him." Amethyst, smiling widely, commented. Greg caressed his son's head upon hearing her words.

"Well, this is ready." Peridot spoke. Both Greg and Garnet walked downstairs to meet the others around the dismantled pod for the moment of the truth.

"Won't it take some time like the last time?" Pearl asked, visibly nervous.

"Not with a big energy source like a fusion, it won't." Peridot took a deep breath. She mentally retraced all her steps and took a look at the machine in front of her, trying to make sure everything was correctly arranged. That was not the moment to mess up. "OK. Let's do this." With a quick movement, she activated the pod, and granted everyone with the vision of a hologram of the Earth's globe. Everyone was terribly nervous for a moment, expecting anything to go wrong. And then, they saw it.

"What...?" Pearl mumbled, eyes fixed on it.

"Is that...?" Amethyst asked. Garnet didn't speak, but she clenched her teeth strongly.

"W-Wait... That... This can't be right..." Peridot blinked repeatedly upon the sight of it. "I must've m-made a mistake! Right...?" She asked to no one in particular, and quickly started going over the arrangement of the wires again, while everyone remained silent.

Finally, Greg pointed out the obvious truth nobody seemed to be able to accept. "It's… big..."

The 'dot' in the middle of the ocean was intimidating. It's large and irregular extension made it look more like a stain than a dot. All their eyes were stuck on it. Silence reigned, until Peridot raised her eyes from the controls with a fearful expression.

"Everything seems correct." Everyone looked at her in discomfort. She swallowed thickly. "And it appears to be... Moving."

They hadn't noticed, but outside, the sky had turned gray and cloudy.

~~~

The weather had gotten worse since their departure from land. The little boat they were on staggered among the increasingly big waves, threatening to tip over every now and then, but Garnet's firm hand managed to steer it in the right direction every time. The wind had started to push them in the wrong direction and they'd had to lower the sail and continue the journey rowing. Even like that, Peridot was only thankful it still wasn't raining, as the radar would become unusable if it were to get wet.

The panorama surrounding them was beautiful, but the gray colors gave it a sad look, and it contributed to keep everyone silent, lost in their own thoughts. The perspective of freeing Steven was pushing them towards their goal, but it was clear that a tough challenge lay ahead.

It was then that a thought occurred to Peridot.

"Hey, even as strong as they could be, you already beat them both, right? Separately?" The unexpected comment caught everyone off guard, and Amethyst and Pearl looked at the green gem with slightly surprised expressions. Garnet was the one to answer.

"It's different. A fusion is more than the sum of the gems conforming it. Far more." She stated, without taking her eyes off the sea.

After a second, Peridot sighed. "Right." She knew Garnet was most likely right. A fusion of two gems of a different kind gained different abilities than the separate gems possessed, Garnet was the living proof of it. As such, Malachite´s abilities and power were bound to be something entirely new.

A moment of silence followed, only broken by the rhythmical sound of the waves.

"Furthermore, we didn't really beat Lapis Lazuli." Pearl added, sounding slightly reluctant. "She just... Left Earth."

"What...?" Peridot tilted her head and looked at her interrogatively, confused.

"Yeah, she was beating up us badly. Well, me at least." Amethyst admitted, sounding surprisingly nonchalant. "Steven convinced her to stop fighting though. The little guy has a way with words." 

“Tell me about it.” Peridot thought. At that instant, her face lit up with understanding. "Oh, you are talking about the last time!" She said. "But you got me wrong, I meant the first time."

"First time?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah, you know! When you imprisoned her inside the mirror." 

She didn't notice immediately, but Peridot's words had the effect of a thunder. Everyone, even Garnet, looked at her, mouths slightly open. Surprise was barely enough to describe the feeling going through them.

"What...?" Pearl shook her head in confusion. "We didn't... Do that!"

Peridot raised an eyebrow at the sight of everyone’s reaction. "Now, what's that supposed to mean...?"

"It means we didn't do that!" Without noticing, Pearl raised her voice. "We would never do that!"

"Wait, just... Wait!" Peridot seemed confused again. "I read the reports. She specifically stated that the Crystal Gems were responsible for the time she was trapped inside the mirror, during the war she..."

"She said what?" Pearl interrupted her. She seemed to be getting more exasperated by the second. Garnet didn’t fail to notice.

"Calm down, Pearl." She could feel a crisis was on its way, and it worried her. She directed her eyes to the green gem. “We fought a war, Peridot, but we never took war prisoners. And we didn’t do it after it either. We would never keep a sentient being under the… Conditions Lapis was under.” Peridot shook her head, confused.

“But you had her mirror, right?” Garnet opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to doubt at the last moment. “Did you not know what that was about?”

“We…” Pearl was clearly shocked by Peridot’s words. “We didn’t know she was… I mean, we would have freed her if we had known she was… Alive…” Her last word was but a whisper. Peridot didn’t find a proper contestation inside her.

"Wait... What if…?” Amethyst seemed very uncomfortable. “If neither of us did it... Then..." Amethyst didn't finish her words, but Pearl appeared to perfectly understand what she was about to say. 

"She would never do that Amethyst." Her voice was tense. "The reports were wrong. She lied." She said, looking at Peridot, who was watching her with growing concern. The latter raised her hands defensively.

"Alright! I..." She swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry I brought it up... I can't really assure the Lazuli didn't lie, so..." Understanding it was not the best time to have that kind of conflict, Peridot made a desperate attempt to end the conversation immediately. Yet the others didn't seem to be done with it.

"But... what if she didn’t?" Amethyst's eyes were full of doubt. She bit her lower lip before speaking. "Why would she in the first place...?" 

"Drop it, Amethyst." Again, Garnet tried to avoid the foreseeable conflict. It was too late.

"Rose Quartz never would have done something like that!" Pearl exploded. Her fists were clenched firmly as she spoke vehemently. "War is one thing, but taking war prisoners? And in that kind of prison... And for so long?!" She shook her head, denying it to everyone, even herself. "If she’d known, she'd have told… me…" Her words died as flashes of a different situation in which she'd found herself doubting about Rose’s secrets came to her mind, making her feel even more frustrated.

"Hey! Don't... Don't think that way...! This could be all some kind of… Misunderstanding…" Peridot wished desperately that she'd never opened her mouth. Amethyst and Pearl where the image of doubt and concern, and at the worst possible time. Garnet seemed considerably calmer, but her hand on the rudder was gripping it with excessive strength. Peridot tried to find anything comforting to say, and failed miserably. 

Silence fell upon the group again, but this time it was tense, almost unbearable. And yet, they kept going, to an uncertain destiny and with troubled hearts.

Soon, it started raining.

"No..." Peridot mumbled, while desperately trying to keep the radar from getting wet. "This isn't good! We might lose our only mean of tracking her...!" Busy as she was, trying to keep the device safe, she didn't notice everyone's eyes had been distracted by something else.

"Actually..." Amethyst said. "I think it'll get wet."

"What?" Peridot asked, exasperated, raising her eyes to look at her. The purple gem pointed finger to the horizon.

"Something tells me we're all going to..."

Only then Peridot saw it. The sea ahead of them had turned dark and mysterious. The light gray colors were quickly being replaced by darker tones, and the waves were getting more menacing each moment. Black clouds were advancing towards them.

"What in the world...?" She said, the radar momentarily forgotten.

"A storm." Garnet answered. "A very big one." Her words sent a chill down Peridot’s back. For the first time, she realized how vulnerable the little ship was in the middle of the immensity of the sea.

"And we’re heading directly towards it.” Reluctantly, Pearl broke the silence she’d kept until then. “She’s in that direction?” She asked Peridot. The question reminded her of the rain and the issue it meant.

“Yes. But soon we won’t be able to tell if we can’t keep this thing dry!”

Pearl nodded. “Let me see it.” Her hands grabbed the device. Peridot watched her, waiting for something to happen. It didn’t, however, and Peridot observed apprehensively how Pearl’s expression revealed her frustration. Whatever she was trying to do, it was not working.

“Are you ok…?” Peridot asked.

“I’m fine.” Pearl replied, with a little more strength than necessary. She took a deep breath and, with visible effort, made a bubble appear around the radar. “That should do it.” As soon as she gave it back, Pearl turned around to continue rowing, hiding her eyes from Peridot’s. The green gem observed the perfectly protected device in her hands, internally wondering how deeply affected were the other gems. With feelings of concern and doubt in her chest, as everyone else, she directed her eyes to the upcoming clouds.

The first thunder didn’t take long to appear. It took Peridot by surprise, making her almost drop the bubble, but she quickly recovered and kept her eyes on the radar. The stain on the screen was directly in front of them, getting closer by the moment. Pearl and Amethyst were doing tremendous efforts to advance, but the weather was making it nearly impossible. In spite of everything, they were moving. Peridot wished she could do something more to help besides guiding them, but the small boat only allowed for two rowers. 

Moments later, the rain started pouring from the sky. By then, thunder and lightning had already become constant over their heads. They were entering the worst part of the storm. A lightning hit the water next to them at one point, and Peridot grew afraid. The reality she was living reminded her too much of the nightmare she’d been through inside Steven’s dream. Still, seeing everyone’s determination gave her the courage she needed to keep her cool. They were all focused on their goal, and they weren’t giving up on it.

“We’re over it!” She announced, yelling to be heard over the raging storm. They had just entered the marked zone in the radar. Garnet turned around to look at her at that exact moment, and Peridot saw, confused, how she extended an arm in her direction. It was a quick movement that Peridot did not expect and did not understand. At that moment, however, a lightning impacted the middle of the boat, exactly over Garnet’s hand, and Peridot realized a moment too late she’d not been reaching towards her, but rather to protect the boat from the impact. The bright light blinded her, and a scream of surprise escaped her mouth. She was left dazzled and stunned by it, and when she managed to come to her senses, she was granted with a terrifying vision.

Ahead of them, lightning had started to impact the sea repeatedly, and with the light they provided, Peridot was able to see a column of wind forming slowly from the sea. She felt a chill run through her back as the column grew in a matter of seconds from the sea to the sky, dark and accompanied by a whistling sound taken directly out of a nightmare.

“This is not a normal storm!” She was barely able to hear Garnet’s words over the raging sounds of the storm. She looked at the gems in front of her. Pearl and Amethyst had stopped rowing and were observing the column of wind in awe, just as her a moment before. She saw Amethyst’s hair dancing uncontrollably, being dragged by the air in direction to the column. “She’s sensed us!” Peridot forced herself to focus on Garnet. The fusion had not taken her hands of the rudder, but was looking at them. “We have to get off the ship!” 

Peridot felt oddly unaware of their situation. Everything around her was too surreal. She saw Pearl and Amethyst jump off the ship and disappear into the dark water, and tried to follow, but her body refused to move. Garnet turned around once again, and her face denoted frustration when she saw Peridot was still on the ship. “Go!” She yelled. Peridot wanted to protest. Her weapons wouldn’t work under water, and her bubble could not stand the amount of pressure necessary to use it as a mean of transportation like Steven’s the last time. But Garnet’s arm stretched in her direction and pushed her with just the right amount of strength to make her fall over the board, just before the fusion stopped another lightning from hitting the boat. Peridot yelled as she fell, but soon she broke the surface of the sea and her mouth was filled with salty water.

Under the water, the silence was oddly unsettling. Just a moment before, she’d been in the middle of the chaos of a raging storm, but now, it all had been replaced by calm. Except Peridot knew that the situation they were in had quickly gotten out of control, and that that calm was only an illusion. 

The cold water provided the reality bite she needed to completely come back to her senses. Thinking more straight, she mentally reproached herself for freezing at the wrong moment. She looked around; the waters around her were dark, so she used her gem to light her surroundings, looking around in an attempt to find any of the other gems. Peridot had never swam before, but she’d seen Amethyst do it, and decided to imitate what she could remember. It didn’t seem to work all that well, as she was having trouble keeping her body from sinking. Still, she managed to use her light to shine an object that, like her, was on its way down.

“The radar!” The bubble, surprisingly, hadn’t broke, and it was sinking rather quickly. Peridot made a quick decision. She could find her friends later, but the object going down would be gone if she lost track of it at that moment. She started swimming down, following it into the darkness.

On her way to the bottom, the reality sank down inside her, and the fear and concern returned. She fell aware of just how alone she felt in the middle of the dark water, but forced herself to get those thoughts out of her head. Steven was alone, she thought, and in need of their help. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what she would actually do once she recovered the device.

The way down took way longer than the last time she’d been to the bottom of the sea. She came to the conclusion that that was no random occurrence. Lapis Lazuli had probably tried to keep Malachite at the deepest place of the sea, the place where the pressure would be enough to hold her down. That was probably the reason why Malachite hadn’t made it to land yet, she reasoned.

Finally, however, land appeared beneath her again. She landed on the bottom and quickly located the radar. She walked slowly to it, hoping Pearl’s bubble would resist the pressure it was under. Fortunately, it seemed like it would, and Peridot sighed mentally when she finally secured the device. She observed the screen and verified they had indeed entered marked territory.

Peridot felt unsure about what to do next. She was at the bottom, and the others, who were better swimmers than her and hadn’t had a strong reason to go down, were probably way above her. Peridot, however, had the advantage of having the device, which gave her the chance to head in the correct direction: to the center of the marked territory, where the fusion would most likely be. She could head there on her own, but the others could have trouble finding it without the guidance of the device. In the other hand, swimming while holding the device would’ve been hard for a skilled swimmer, and Peridot could barely swim at all. The darkness around her made it clear that making signals wasn’t that much of an option either. Peridot cringed. Nothing was clear, so she went with the easiest course of action; walking directly to the center of the marked territory. She avoided thinking about what awaited there, but decided to use her light to flash signals every now and then, hoping any other gem would see them.

Species of fish she’d never seen before swam away from her as she made her way slowly through the irregular terrain of the bottom of the sea. Everything was too dark down there, and the bad feeling that anything could be lurking in the surroundings made her feel uncomfortable. She looked around her repeatedly, expecting at any moment to find herself facing some kind of dangerous Earth creature. But no monsters appeared out of the darkness, and Peridot realized that life was scarce there. “No corals this time.” She thought. It didn’t ease the tension she felt about the whole situation, but it did make her feel a little more secure. The device suggested she was getting closer to her destination, and she’d seriously started wondering what she’d do without the others, when something odd broke the monotony of the surroundings.

It started off as a vibration; a light tingle on her skin. Surprised, Peridot stopped moving. Then, it’ll went down rather quickly.

A sound that increased its loudness to the point of becoming unbearable was all the warning Peridot got, before she felt a fierce current of water hit her. Unable to understand what was happening, Peridot acted out of instinct. She dropped the bubble and searched desperately for anything to hold on to, as the current grew stronger and threatened to drag her with it. The bubble, still unbroken, was quickly sucked into the darkness behind her by the current, but Peridot was barely aware of it. She grabbed a rock with both of her hands, and held on as strong as she could, cringing with her eyes closed. Suddenly, however, the current disappeared. Not only that, but she was met with the nonsensical feeling of being out of the water. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling utterly out of place, as she saw dry land up ahead and realized that the pressure of the immense quantity of water over her was gone. Peridot felt the air around her and breathed deeply, but she still couldn’t believe what she was feeling and seeing. 

What moments before had been completely covered by water, was dry.

“What is going on...?” She mumbled.

She looked back to face a tall wall of water, not too far away from her. And she finally realized. She was in a valley of dry land, surrounded by mountains of water. The seas themselves had been displaced to make room for the dry patch of irregular land she was standing on. Above her, the sounds of the storm had returned, although lower this time, but the rain had apparently stopped.

Peridot had no doubts about who was responsible for that tremendous display of power. She turned around again, directing her eyes to the center of the valley, and there, for the first time, she saw her.

Her skin shining wet under the lightning, the only source of light around, and her hair dropping down her shoulders like a cascade of moonlight. She was standing on two of her three pairs of arms. Upon seeing her face, Peridot’s knees trembled. 

The creature was smiling.

But her smile was a lie. 

An unnatural grin, something that didn’t reveal real happiness, but viciousness. The happiness of someone about to commit an atrocity. Peridot had never been so afraid of another gem, and had to make an effort not to run away looking for a hiding spot. Thankfully, she was not looking in her direction, which gave Peridot a small amount of time to process what was going on in front of her. For Malachite, the fusion, was smiling at three smaller gems standing bravely in front of her.

Peridot was separated from them by a considerable distance, and as such, she couldn’t fully understand Garnet’s words when she spoke. But the tone she used made the meaning of her words very obvious. It was a warning. Problem was, it only made the other fusion’s grin wider. When she spoke, Peridot was perfectly able to hear her.

“I’m glad you came.” She hissed. Her voice was the incarnation of wickedness. It shared no resemblance to the voices of the gems that formed her. “You saved me the trouble of finding your pathetic temple. I’m still going to destroy it, however.” She cackled, and Peridot saw the gems change into a more aggressive stance. She knew a battle was about to begin, and, guided by a courage she was no longer sure she had, she started running in their direction. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be of any help, but she was sure she was going to try.

Garnet spoke again, and Malachite laughed again in response. “The boy? Maybe I’ll let him live. To show him what I’ll do to this miserable chunk of rock.” The bitterness in her words left no doubt she was serious. “Too bad you won’t get to see it.”

The gems seemed to be done with conversations. Closer as she was to the trio, Peridot managed to see them start to move in an unexpected way, which made her stop moving to look at them in surprise. It took her a moment to realize they were dancing.

Peridot gasped. They were dancing! “Of course! Alexandrite!” Hope made its way to Peridot again as a smile formed on her face.

Alexandrite, the fusion of four gems that Peridot had never seen. However, Steven had told her about her, and he’d not held up with the descriptions of her size and strength. He hadn’t seen her fight either, but Peridot had witnessed the strength of each of the gems forming her separately, and she’d come to imagine just how powerful she could actually be. “How come I didn’t see it?” She said, speaking to herself. “This is it! They can beat her!”

Her joy couldn’t have been bigger when the gems started glowing. For the first time, Malachite seemed to doubt, and although she made a movement that was clearly meant to interrupt their transformation, it was simply too late, as the apparition of the fusion was imminent. And then, the glow stopped for the longest ten seconds Peridot had ever lived.

“What…?” She and Malachite both froze, confused and surprised. That was not supposed to happen; the fusion should’ve showed up by then. It was taking more time than usual, and Peridot found no explanation to it. But in the short time their confusion lasted, the glow returned, and before Malachite or Peridot were able to intervene, Alexandrite was formed.

The fusion rose from the ground, and she was as tall as Peridot had ever imagined. “Yes!” She couldn’t contain the exclamation. She was taller than Malachite! And Malachite seemed to realize that too, as she cringed, dropping her fake smile.

“Don’t think I’m scared of you!” With that angry scream, she raised an arm in an offensive stance. Behind her, an arm three times the size of hers grew slowly from the water and extended itself towards the battlefield. She closed her hand into a fist, and the watery arm did the same.

Alexandrite didn’t speak. Her six arms adopted offensive positions, however, and Peridot saw in awe how six weapons were summoned at the same time, one in each hand. Two long whips in the lower arms, Amethyst’s, although they looked thicker than hers; two spears in the middle, Pearl’s, appropriately sized for the fusion; and lastly, Garnet’s gauntlets, in the higher arms. From her gifted position, Peridot got to see how dangerous both fusions looked right before the confrontation, under the lightning and thunder of the dark sky.

The first blow could’ve easily been mistaken by a thunder. The watery arm smashed the ground and dissolved against it, just where Alexandrite had been a moment before. The tall fusion had taken a quick step backwards to avoid the hit, and retaliated with a quick movement of her whips, which tangled themselves around Malachite’s middle arms. Malachite’s reaction time wasn’t good enough to avoid the attack, but she continued her aggressive attempt, as the watery arm reformed again, this time around Alexandrite’s leg. Alexandrite realized, and sent a bolt of electricity through her whips, which zapped the other fusion strongly. Malachite growled furiously as the electricity ran through her body, but once again, instead of backing away, she continued her attack relentlessly, violently moving her arm back and lifting Alexandrite’s massive size like it was nothing, throwing her behind herself.

Alexandrite was clearly in a dangerous situation, being tossed around by the watery arm, but in midair, she managed to throw one of her spears to Malachite’s exposed back. It was all happening incredibly fast, but Peridot understood that movement immediately; she was going for the Lazuli’s gem. Malachite proved herself capable of defense too, however, as a quick burst of water coming from the surroundings blocked the spear before it hit her. Even so, the action seemed to take away some of her concentration, as the watery arm was dissolved once again. Free from its grip, Alexandrite was able to perform a safe landing, even in the uncomfortable terrain.

However, Malachite turned around surprisingly quick, and continued her assault by shooting two rocks propelled by water at Alexandrite, both coming from different directions. Alexandrite dodged the first one, directed to Pearl’s gem on her forehead, easily; had more trouble avoiding the second one, that was directed to her back, but was unable to avoid Malachite’s strong punch directed with precision to Amethyst’s gem. The second rock had been a decoy, as Alexandrite came to realize in the last moment, to allow Malachite to get closer and engage her in direct combat. She was barely able to protect her gem by putting one of her gauntlets in the way, absorbing some of the strength of the blow. It was still strong enough to make her totter, but she reacted quickly by returning the punch to Malachite’s face, aiming to the gem but landing instead directly on Malachite’s cheek. The hit made Malachite growl with anger, and it gave Alexandrite the time to recover her equilibrium and take a quick step back, away from the other fusion’s ferocious punches.

Peridot only observed in powerlessness. Each hit made the ground tremble. She was unable to move, knowing from the first moment that she had nothing to do amongst powerful beings like the ones engaged in combat at that moment. She was observant, however, and had come to realize that, while Alexandrite was clearly the most skilled fighter of the two, being faster and more strategic, Malachite compensated with raw strength and an unsettling amount of aggressiveness. Alexandrite had a major disadvantage in that she could be attacked from any direction, due to being surrounded by water, but she managed to keep a good balance between maintaining her distance from the furious gem in front of her and keeping an eye for surprise attacks. Peridot was unable to make any assumptions about the outcome of the battle, except for one; the fusion to unfuse first would never be formed again. That was a battle to death; both fusions were struggling to protect their gems from the other’s attacks.

Alexandrite backed away quickly and threw both of her spears in direction to Malachite’s chest. The target protected herself with another stream of water that interrupted the spears’ flight. Alexandrite, from a rather long distance in front of her, summoned her spears again and, much to Peridot’s surprised, laughed sarcastically. “What’s the matter? Tired already?” The fusion mocked Malachite, who observed her in disbelief.

“What is she doing?!” Peridot yelled. That didn’t seem like the moment to joke around. Malachite’s eyes opened inordinately as she charged furiously towards Alexandrite with a savage scream, at the time that multiple jets of water were shot in direction to her target. Unlike the other ones, Alexandrite was able to easily avoid those. And, when Malachite came in close enough to try to punch Alexandrite, the taller fusion grabbed her arm in a quick movement and used her own momentum to throw her on her back with significant effort. Peridot’s eyes widened as she understood Alexandrite’s strategy when she saw Malachite crash on the ground. 

The tall fusion had been able to fight off Malachite’s advantage in terrain rather well. Still, seeing that hers was an unsustainable position, she’d decided to take advantage of her enemy’s one weakness: her rage. By taunting her, she’d made sure Malachite’s next move was an instinctive one, one guided solely by anger, and as a result, Malachite’s gem could’ve been seriously damaged. That didn’t seem to be the case, however, as Malachite had quickly stood up again.

She looked stunned, and for the first time the battle seemed to tilt in one direction. Without losing a moment, Alexandrite backed away just the right distance to throw a punch putting all her weight on it, directed to Jasper’s gem on Malachite’s face. Malachite looked so vulnerable that Peridot was sure that’d be the end of the battle. In the last moment, however, she lowered her head at the same time that she summoned Jasper’s helmet. The impact between the two weapons was so strong and unexpected that Alexandrite lost her balance for just a second, time enough for Malachite to slam her fist across her face. Peridot covered her mouth in surprise when Alexandrite’s glasses flew across the air, broken in half. The tall fusion tottered backwards, but managed to step away from Malachite, who was still recovering from her crash on the ground.

Separated by a short distance, both fusions stopped fighting for a moment and looked at each other. To Peridot, Malachite appeared to be the most beat up of the two, but Alexandrite had made a mistake by underestimating her opponent in the last moment, and her swollen face revealed it that way. It was clear that the battle was taking the best out of the two fusions, but Peridot was still sure Alexandrite had a chance. That was, until the fateful moment when she saw in disbelief how the tall fusion started coming apart.

Both her and Malachite were frozen in their places when Alexandrite started glowing dangerously. Peridot felt a cold shiver run through her back, and one more time started running towards the battle, tripping and falling several times among the severely irregular terrain, without taking her eyes off the tall fusion. She knew at that very moment that something was about to go terribly wrong. 

Malachite seemed to know too, as a wide grin appeared on her face. Alexandrite emitted a guttural sound and bent in half, hugging herself in an attempt to stay together. It seemed to work, and the glow diminished, but vulnerable as she was, she was unable to see the reaper approaching her calmly, tasting the victory.

“You’re weak.” Malachite’s voice was arrogant. “Unstable. Unlike me.” She raised a hand, and the water around her, obeying an unspoken order, formed a spear in her hand. “You don’t deserve to exist!” Her scream was followed by a thunder, and with a strong movement of her arm, she threw the watery spear directly at the exposed, and still struggling to stay together, fusion. She’d intended to hit Amethyst’s gem, and would’ve done so, hadn’t it been for the beam of light that broke the darkness and hit her on her shoulder in the very last moment.

“What?!” She growled furiously, as the beam moved and hit her directly in the middle of her forehead, making her cover face and preventing her from seeing its source.

“Not while I’m here, you clod!” Peridot, standing in the middle of the two fusions, yelled, while shooting Malachite with her laser gun.

She was covered in scratches and full of sand, but Peridot had made it to that position just in time. While she ran there, it all had started making sense in her head. She’d remembered the tense silence on the boat, Pearl’s failed attempt of summoning a bubble around the device, and specially, the long moment of tension before Alexandrite appeared. They were all signs. None of the gems were in the condition to form the stable bond required to stay fused for a long period of time. They were all scared, doubtful, filled with negative emotions. The conditions to form a bad fusion, like Malachite. Except, Malachite was stable, while they weren’t. Peridot only wished she’d seen it sooner: Alexandrite was unsustainable.

The moment the beam hit Malachite, she threw the spear. The precision was lost, but the strength and accuracy were still enough to hit Alexandrite in the middle of her abdomen, were the spear sink deeply and came out the other side. With a gasp, the fusion broke down completely, and the three gems forming her plummeted to the ground.

“No!” Peridot saw it happen and quickly ran in direction to the fallen gems, with a knot in her throat.

Malachite had protected her face with her other arm, and when she felt the laser disappear, she moved it to look for the responsible of the attack. She saw the small green gem running in direction to the trio that had just unfused, and hissed in anger: “You!” A watery arm formed from the sea around her and directed quickly over the green gem, just as she reached the other three. “You’ll pay for this!” The gigantic amount of water dropped over them with terrible strength.

It hit the ground, and the impact was big enough to shatter the rocks of the bottom of the sea. But, merely a moment before that, a green bubble was formed around the four gems in the ground.

“What?!” Disbelief filled Malachite’s voice when she saw it happen. In the middle of the water, looking at her directly from inside the bubble, she saw Peridot. “Impossible! You don’t have this kind of power!” She yelled, as she started moving towards the green bubble.

Inside it, a completely different scene was taking place. Peridot had reached the three gems just as they recovered enough to stand up. Seeing that Malachite intended to crush them, Peridot had gotten as close as she could to them, while taking another device out of her gem with a speed unknown to her until that moment, and activated and threw it in the middle of the group, right before the impact.

Her new device had been upgraded from the last time, and one of its new features was a much longer range. It was enough to protect everyone. Peridot had also improved the bubble’s resistance, but the hit had been so violent, that it took a third of its capacity immediately, as shown by a small display on it. But Peridot was not looking at it, as she was paying attention to the three gems inside the bubble with her.

“Pearl! Snap out of it!” Amethyst was shacking Pearl’s shoulders, but the tall gem seemed to be in another world.

“What if she didn’t lie? What if Rose kept her like that all those years…?” With her eyes firmly closed and her arms crossed, tightly hugging herself, Pearl said. “Do we deserve this…?” The gem was on her knees.

“What are you talking about?!” Amethyst yelled. She backed a step away. “She’s lost it… Garnet, do something!” She turned around and said to the fusion, who was absolutely silent.

With her hands on her temples, Garnet was as aware as Pearl of her surroundings. Amethyst saw her and realized she was lost in her future vision. “Guys, come on! I can’t do this on my own…!” The purple gem started breathing heavily, in a fit of panic. “Please… I can’t do it on my own…” Tears started dropping from her eyes.

“It’s useless…” Garnet, finally, spoke. “I can’t find a way… What if… There isn’t one…?” The fusion was shaking, about to come apart.

Peridot saw the scene quickly develop in front of her eyes with terror gripping her throat. “What if they’re right…?” The thought assaulted her. “What if this is the end…?”

“Except it wouldn’t be.” She was barely aware that Malachite reached the bubble at that moment. “The Earth… Dad… Steven… No. We have to carry on!” She clenched her fists strongly.

“NO!” She yelled as strong as she could. Her voice was the reality bite necessary to help the others come back to their senses. They all looked at her in confusion, like if they had just noticed her. “I forbid you from thinking that way!” She continued. Her words didn’t make any sense to the others, but she didn’t stop talking. “We’re the Crystal Gems! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from fighting you, befriending you and becoming one of you is that you’re the most irrational and oddest of all the gems I’ve ever met! But you… No, we… WE NEVER GIVE UP!”

Pearl’s arms dropped to her sides. Amethyst wiped away her tears. Everyone’s attention was set on the green gem, whose clenched fists were shaking. “You didn’t give up five thousand years ago when you fought a war against the whole Homeworld! You didn’t give up when you fought any of the two gems out there!” At that moment, Malachite hit the bubble with both of her hands. The power of the device lowered even further, and a weak sound of alarm went off. “And you didn’t give up on me! As I didn’t give up trying either!” Tears were sliding down her cheeks, but Peridot was not aware of it. “Are we going to give up now, leaving this mess for Steven to handle?”

“Steven…” Pearl mumbled.

“You shouldn’t care about chances for the future or lies from the past… We live now, we fight now, and now, we prove what means to be a Crystal Gem!”

“Never give up!” Amethyst yelled fiercely.

“Fight for what’s right!” Pearl added.

“Protect and defend the Earth and humanity!” Garnet’s voice was full of pride.

“We’re the Crystal Gems! And we’ll never give up!” Peridot said, and her words filled everyone’s hearts with the hot feeling of courage. Another time, Malachite hit the bubble. This time, it flickered, and the alarm went silent. A small stream of smoke came from the machine on the ground.

“Stop hiding and fight!” Malachite’s words reached them across the increasingly weak barrier.

“I see it now…” Garnet was smiling. “I know what to do… But it’s now or never.” Everyone looked at her expectantly, and when she spoke, she did it quickly but clearly.

~~~

Outside, Malachite prepared to give the finishing blow to the bubble. She’d seen it flicker, and she knew the next hit would be the last. The gems were hiding inside, but their game would soon come to an end. She raised both of her arms over her head, ready to strike, when the bubble disappeared by itself. She was astonished, as the gems that emerged from inside it didn’t have the terrified and weak expressions she’d expected. She saw Peridot throw a small object to the air and wondered if she was trying to distract her, but she didn’t have much time to think about it, as her eyes were blinded by a strong flash of light that exploded directly in front of her eyes.

She tottered backwards, cursing loudly, as she felt a pair of whips tangle around her middle arms. Unstable and blinded as she was, she was unable to avoid stumbling on the rough terrain behind her. She was aware that, with her arms up and instinctively trying to protect her gem, she was extremely vulnerable, and tried to create a curtain of water in front of her for protection.

Pearl and Garnet jumped into the air just as the Amethyst trapped Malachite with her whips. Pearl threw her spear directly at Malachite’s chest, and Garnet fired both of her gauntlets a moment after in the same direction. The spear was quick enough to hit Malachite as the curtain formed behind it, and the gauntlets pushed it immediately afterwards, causing it to sink deeply in her chest. The fusion emitted a scream of anger and surprise when she felt the spear piercing her to come out the other side of her body.

It’d all happened in a matter of seconds. Everyone froze, waiting for something, anything to happen, but it was done. With a poof, Malachite, the fusion, was destroyed, and the two gems that formed her dropped to the ground. The Crystal Gems barely had enough time to process what had just happened, however, as immediately afterwards the water of the ocean, having no one to keep it in its position any longer, started moving to occupy the dry land again with a loud noise that covered any other sound. Everyone tried to stay together, but the water moved too quickly, and soon they all drifted apart pushed by the strong currents.

Peridot was lifted off the ground and tossed around by the water. In the darkness that had suddenly returned, she was utterly lost, unable to differentiate between up and down, the bottom or the surface. When she finally crashed against something, however, she was sure it was the bottom. The strong impact left her dazzled and in pain. Only then she uncovered her gem, which she’d been protecting with both of her hands, and used it to light her surroundings.

Joy started then to arrive to her body. They’d done it! Malachite had been defeated. She felt the desire to scream of joy and hug someone, but alone and surrounded by water, none of those things were an option. She’d been under the fear of failure for so long, that the victory seemed like an illusion, like some kind of dream from which she could wake up any moment. But she’d seen it. It was true. The only thing she wanted to do, was find the other ones to head home, to Steven.

Those were the thoughts on her mind when she saw a familiar white hair floating around not so far away from her.

“Amethyst!” She thought joyfully, as she swam with big effort towards her. Only at the last moment she realized that the shoulders over which the hair fell were far wider than Amethyst’s, and only then she wondered what Amethyst, a skilled swimmer, was still doing down in the bottom of the ocean. But at that moment, Jasper turned around and saw her, ending her thoughts.

Peridot panicked. She tried to swim away, but she was too close to her, and Jasper simply grabbed her by her leg. Peridot tried to kick her away, but the big gem was far too strong for that to work. She dragged Peridot towards her, and grabbed her face between one of her hands, forcing Peridot to look at her.

The short gem saw the fury in her eyes, illuminated by the green light coming from her gem. She saw the accusation. “Traitor.” They seemed to say. Jasper summoned her weapon. Peridot tried to scream, but the cold water filled her mouth. She knew what was about to happen. Back in Homeworld, there was only one way to deal with treachery. She saw that as her end; surrounded by darkness, looking at a pair of eyes that despised her completely, and a complete feeling of despair imbrued her.

At that moment however, Jasper’s eyes changed suddenly, from hate to surprise and disbelief. And Peridot saw in absolute confusion how the tip of an object protruded out of Jasper’s chest, just a moment before she retracted to her gem. The light revealed then a spear, and holding it, Pearl, with a dangerous expression. The gem proceeded then to grab the orange gem that was quickly sinking to the bottom and bubbled it, easily this time. The bubble immediately disappeared, sent back to the temple. Peridot was frozen in her place, but she managed to reach out and grab Pearl’s hand, getting her attention. The tall gem looked at her, and saw absolute gratitude in her eyes. She only nodded in response, however, and Peridot was surprised by her severe expression.

Suddenly, a strong force coming from below pushed them upwards, in direction to the surface. They were both equally surprised, but it happened quickly and they had no chance to avoid it. Peridot saw in confusion how the ground bellow was left far behind, as they reached the surface in nothing but a few seconds. They broke the surface of the water and were met with the air and noises of the sea. Peridot breathed and looked around, trying to understand what was happening. She and Pearl were standing directly on the water, as the force was preventing them from sinking. Above, the storm had begun to dissipate, letting rays of sunlight filter through the patches of clouds.

Looking around, Peridot finally understood. Not so far away from her, Lapis Lazuli was standing on the water too, and it seemed obvious she was the only possible responsible. Peridot swallowed thickly, expecting any sort of reaction from her. But the gem wasn’t looking at her; her eyes were fixated on the water below her, and she seemed unaware of her presence. Beside Peridot, Pearl hummed lowly, noticing the blue gem too. Moments after that, both Amethyst and Garnet came out of the water too, equally confused at first.

From the distance, their boat approached them, pushed by the water much like them. It stopped next to each one of the gems, waiting for them to get on. They did, guided by a mute agreement, but nobody took their eyes of the Lazuli. When the four of them where on the ship, it got closer to Lapis Lazuli too. The blue gem got on it delicately then, carefully avoiding looking at the gems and keeping perfect silence. The boat started moving swiftly in a determined direction, and it was clear to all of them that the silent gem had the intention of accompanying them.

The water around them had never been so calmed as it was on their way back. Peridot observed her traveling companions. They were all tired, beat up, but especially, silent, lost in their own thoughts. They were going home from a victory, but somehow they were still tense. Maybe it was the presence of the blue gem that looked sadly to the sea, or maybe they just wouldn’t be able to feel victorious before seeing Steven awake again. Whatever it was, the trip was quiet, with the exception of the wind and the occasional seabird. 

Peridot directed her eyes to the blue gem again. Lapis Lazuli looked tired, as everyone else, but, under the orange light of the sundown, she looked beautiful.

~~~

The kid opened his eyes and his father cried tears of joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy macaroni, you made it to the end?! Alrighty! Lets put the cards on the table, shall we?
> 
> Did I give up on the FF/lose interest? No. Not even close. Am I aware that the last time I promised I'd be more active? Yes. Do I feel bad for not being able to keep that promise? Yup. I suck. Do I suck for taking three months to write a chapter? As we established before, yes, I suck. Does this mean I'm back and that I'll be as active as before? I don't think so. Sorry! Are you so mad at me for taking so long that you'll never ever read anymore of my FF? Probably, but I'll let you answer that one for me.
> 
> In other news, this chapter is big. Like, Jasper-sized. How big is that? Well, my whole FF is composed of 46XXX words, while this chapter is 25,675 words long. Yeah, that's more than half all the stuff I've written, in just one chapter. Why is it that big? Well, you're asking a lot of questions today, aren'tcha? I really have no idea. It started off fairly big but got out of control really quickly. It took me a lot of trying and failing to get exactly what I wanted from it, but I'm satisfied with the result.
> 
> If you feel bad about how I made Malachite a big meanie, her behavior will be explained later on another chapter. On a completely different subject, ten points for the house of your preference if you spot some of the references (not so) cleverly hidden in this chapter and this description.
> 
> Lastly, if you're reading this, I sincerely thank you for putting up with me and my irregular schedules. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I really hope you can leave me a comment/review letting me know what you hated or loved from it. That's all friends, stay determined. Regularperifan, out.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked the story! Please leave a comment telling me what you hated, loved, or what you'd like to see in future chapters! Thank you for reading!


End file.
